In 2010, Valerie Madondo, a Zimbabwean (second from the left in the photo above), crossed the South African border in search of a job. She hoped to earn enough to look after her children. But her journey took a horrible turn after she was sold to Nigerians by South Africans in Rosettenville.
Valerie, now 29, was held captive by these men for six years. Speaking to CHRONICLE, Valerie recounts how she was the victim of this human trafficking in 2010, drugged, abused, sold as a substitute, imprisoned, held hostage and repeatedly.
“I came here looking for a job and working in Pretoria for a while. I trusted some women who said they had a job interview for me. I realized after I was sold to Nigerians for money , “Valerie said.
” I was drugged and abused. I did not know where I was and I was often locked up as a hostage. I was blown up and I had no choice in my life while I was a prisoner of these Nigerian monsters. And yes, I tried to escape several times in the Rosettenville area, but I was under a heavy dose of different drugs that men ended up finding me because I did not go very far. I could not escape “
At that time, Valerie was homeless and without money. She barely ate to survive, and any amount of money she earned from prostitution, these Nigerian pimps snatched her up.
“At one point it was in 2014. I was arrested for selling drugs, which I was hooked on a lot more than anything else, since it had been inserted into my system. My kidnappers took me out of jail and bribed the police to free me. I was afraid of all Nigerians and I still have this fear when I see one , “she said.
–Sans
