By Ryan Abbott

An American couple enslaved an African woman for two years after luring her here with an offer of a two-week job catering, the woman from Swaziland claims in court.

Thembi Dlamini sued Juna Babb and her husband Michael Babb in Federal Court. She claims the Babbs seized her passport when she arrived in Atlanta and forced her to work for two years for nothing. According to the federal lawsuit, Juna Babb told Dlamini, 37, an aspiring cook, that she needed a caterer for her son’s wedding in the United States. Dlamini says a mutual acquaintance told her the Babbs were ministers in America.

“Ms. Babb told plaintiff that defendants were looking to provide African people with positive opportunities and that it would be an especially good opportunity for plaintiff to come to the United States to work for defendants, because she could earn money to provide to her family,” Dlamini states in her complaint.

But Babb stole her passport and her return ticket and told her there never was a wedding, that it was just a trick to get her to work for the Babbs, according to the complaint.  Dlamini claims says the Babbs kept her in their basement and told her not to leave the house because it was dangerous. Juna Babb told her she could not contact her family without tipping off the police, who would arrest and deport her, according to the complaint.

Read More  African Woman Enslaved for Years in Georgia | Alternet.