Police Minister Bheki Cele says two men were shot dead when police swooped on the area where eight young women were raped at West Village in Krugersdorp, on Gauteng’s West Rand, by a group of men believed to be zama zamas.
The women were filming a music video in the area when they were attacked by a group of around 20 men who are believed to be foreign nationals.
Minister Cele was speaking in Krugersdorp after he left the ANC’s policy conference at Nasrec, in Johannesburg, to attend to the matter on the instruction of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
He says suspected zama zamas have been arrested in the area where the rapes occurred.
Video: Police minister speaks to SABC News about the gang rape and murder case in Krugersdorp
According to the police, the crew of 22 people including twelve women, and ten men were accosted by a group of armed men clad in blankets while they were filming a music video. The suspects then ordered them to lay down and proceeded to rape eight of the women and robbed them of their belongings before fleeing the scene.
The suspects are believed to be foreign nationals.
Police also recovered items including firearms.
Gauteng Police Commissioner, General Elias Mawela says explosives and ammunition were amongst the things recovered during a multi-disciplinary team of law enforcement agencies and security companies in Krugersdorp.
“We have recovered two unlicensed firearms with ammunition. We have also recovered explosives, we recovered some mercury which is being used for illegal mining activities and some of the processed gold dust. We have recovered some of the victim’s belongings, bankcards ID and some of the handbags,” says Mawela.
Community calling for the army to be brought in
The community is calling for the army to be brought into the area as the incident is the tip of the iceberg in the area when it comes to crime. The community says they are faced with such crimes on a daily basis and allege most of the perpetrators are ‘zama zamas’ who are heavily armed.
Vice chairperson of the West Village Community Forum, Andre Shannon says they’ve 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 three occasions that the army comes in, clear out the space because this is a war zone. This is not a normal crime zone or normal ‘zama zama’ structure. These people are highly trained people, they shoot in our community every night”, says Shannon.
ActionSA Statement
Meanwhile ActionSA has issued a statement condemning the horrific rape of eight young women at West Village in Krugersdorp on Gauteng’s West Rand.
Police Minister Bheki Cele says two suspects were killed when police swooped on the area where the rapes occurred. Cele says three suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the rapes. He says 65 suspected Zama Zamas have also been arrested in the area.
Action SA says the unprovoked and brutal criminality evidenced in the rapes is becoming commonplace in South Africa, and reflects a broader pattern of Gender-Based Violence.
ActionSA has recommended a range of measures to reduce the high crime rate including using technological advances and improved training for police as well as increasing budgetary allocations to SAPS. Action SA says the most important measure would be to remove the ANC in the 2024 national elections.
