Locals at West Village in Krugersdorp, on Gauteng’s West Rand, have reacted to the horrific rape of eight women by demanding that the national government and police do more to combat out-of-control crime in their area.
Residents claim that they are under siege.
Police Minister Bheki Cele says police hope to make more arrests after three suspects were taken into custody. Minister Cele says the suspects are believed to be zama zamas. Police are looking for 17 other suspects.
The community of West Village is also calling for the army to be brought into the area. They say Thursday’s incident was the tip of the iceberg. They claim that such crimes occur on a daily basis and that the majority of the criminals are heavily armed zama zamas.
Vice chairman of the West Village Community Forum, Andre Shannon, says they have been trying to engage with the police Minister since February without any success.
Shannon says they are forced to be at home by 6 PM due to the high levels of crime in the area. “They have asked the mayor to get the police, we’ve asked the brigadier on at least 3 occasions that the army comes in, clear out the space because this is a war zone. This not a normal crime zone or normal zama zama structure, these people are highly trained people, they shoot in our community every night.”
Two suspects shot dead following Krugersdorp gang rapes:
Brutal rapes
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has reacted to the brutal rapes, urging delegates at the party’s Policy Conference to emphatically deal with the scourge of gender-based violence.
Ramaphosa says he instructed Police Minister to leave no stone unturned in bringing to book all the suspects who abuse women.
“A significant challenge facing our country today is crime and violence. Communities across the country live in fear. They are worried about crime, gangsterism, rape and murder. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the violence perpetrated against them by men. We have directed the Minister of Police and law enforcement agencies to immediately embark on this to make sure that the perpetrators are apprehended and dealt with.”
[HAPPENING NOW] Gauteng @SAPoliceService top brass are at this hour briefing the #PoliceMinistry on the investigation and SAPS operations to track and arrest perpetrators of #KrugersdorpRape pic.twitter.com/mKKsmhToFO
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) July 29, 2022
[RAPE] Minister Cele tells @Newzroom405 that one of the models attacked during the #KrugersdorpRape was raped by TEN men; she is 19 years old.
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) July 29, 2022
@SAPoliceService are on a manhunt for a gang of men believed to be illegal miners also known as amaZamazama operating in the Krugersdorp area. #KrugersdorpRape
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) July 29, 2022
Police are looking for a total 20 men. Three of them are already behind bars.
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) July 29, 2022
