Court adjourns human trafficking case

The Blantyre Magistrate’s Court yesterday adjourned a case involving Cathy Maloya, one of the 38 women who were recently repatriated from Kuwait, and Eric Mdoka who allegedly facilitated her travel to that country.

Chief resident magistrate Thom Ligowe adjourned the matter to November 17 2016, saying he will soon be proceeding on leave.

Mdoka, who is currently on court bail, is answering a charge of trafficking persons. He pleaded not guilty to the charge on August 25 this year.

Testifying in court as first witness, Maloya narrated how she found herself in the hands of cruel people as a nanny in exchange for 730 Kuwaitidinars (about K1 738 603).

She further told the court how she worked continuously for 20 hours, from 6am to 2am and fed on one chapatti and a cup of coffee the whole day.

“I used to bathe and feed five cats every morning before cleaning the five storey house. One day, one of my masters threatened to kill me after his child got injured in the kitchen while I was cleaning. I got scared and started looking for ways to escape,” she said.

Maloya, who left for Kuwait in May this year, fled to the Malawian Embassy after working in such conditions for three weeks.

She arrived in the country last month after government started repatriating stranded women who went to Kuwait following promises of good jobs.

Mdoka is being represented by lawyer Maxwell Tembo. n