- Apr 21, 2007
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Harrow woman convicted of keeping Tanzanian as slave
BBC
A former hospital director has been ordered to pay £25,000 to an African woman she kept as a slave in London.
Mwanahamisi Mruke, 47, was flown from Tanzania in 2006 and made to work 18-hour days for Saeeda Khan, 68, at her home in Harrow, north-west London.
Khan was convicted of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation.
The judge at Southwark Crown Court, who also gave her a suspended nine-month prison term, said she was guilty of "the most appalling greed".
Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said Khan had told "a pack of lies" during her trial by saying her victim, whom he described as "naive and illiterate", was treated as part of the family.
Sentencing her he said: "Your own behaviour was callous and greedy.
Saeeda Khan ordered Mwanahamisi Mruke around by ringing a bell
"You could easily have afforded to pay her a reasonable sum by way of wages. You chose to give her virtually nothing."
He told Khan that her age, the fact she has two adult disabled children and was in poor health had prevented him from passing an immediate custodial sentence.
During the trial jurors heard Miss Mruke was denied her passport and liberty and endured the ordeal to support her daughter through college in Africa.
Ms Mruke said she could "never forgive" her captor for her four-year ordeal.
"I felt like a fool, I was treated like a slave," Ms Mruke said.
After bringing her into the country from Tanzania, Khan initially gave her an allowance of £10 a month to work around the clock at her beck and call, the court heard.
READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12710481
BBC
A former hospital director has been ordered to pay £25,000 to an African woman she kept as a slave in London.
Mwanahamisi Mruke, 47, was flown from Tanzania in 2006 and made to work 18-hour days for Saeeda Khan, 68, at her home in Harrow, north-west London.
Khan was convicted of trafficking a person into the UK for exploitation.
The judge at Southwark Crown Court, who also gave her a suspended nine-month prison term, said she was guilty of "the most appalling greed".
Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said Khan had told "a pack of lies" during her trial by saying her victim, whom he described as "naive and illiterate", was treated as part of the family.
Sentencing her he said: "Your own behaviour was callous and greedy.
Saeeda Khan ordered Mwanahamisi Mruke around by ringing a bell
"You could easily have afforded to pay her a reasonable sum by way of wages. You chose to give her virtually nothing."
He told Khan that her age, the fact she has two adult disabled children and was in poor health had prevented him from passing an immediate custodial sentence.
During the trial jurors heard Miss Mruke was denied her passport and liberty and endured the ordeal to support her daughter through college in Africa.
Ms Mruke said she could "never forgive" her captor for her four-year ordeal.
"I felt like a fool, I was treated like a slave," Ms Mruke said.
After bringing her into the country from Tanzania, Khan initially gave her an allowance of £10 a month to work around the clock at her beck and call, the court heard.
READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12710481