Police say they will prioritise investigations relating to the Krugersdorp mass rapes. Minister Bheki Cele met with families of the eight rape survivors at the Alexandra Police Station on Sunday.
Police Minister visits families of the Krugersdorp gang rape survivors:
The eight women were part of a production crew that was filming a music video, near a mine dump in Krugersdorp on the West Rand. They were working on site when the attack took place on Thursday.
Gun wielding attackers gang-raped the eight women and robbed them of their belongings at West Village in the vicinity of a disused mine. One of them was allegedly raped by ten men.
Cele addressed the media after meeting some of the families.
During the meeting it was revealed that some of the survivors were as young as 19-years old, and Minister Cele assured them and their families that police would leave no stone un-turned in the quest to find their attackers.
“Mine, mostly was just to see the parents and hear from them what really happened. Their take and what they think could be done. But we made sure we don’t speak to the kids they’re quite young some of them,” Cele says.
Traumatized
He also cautioned the media not to contact the survivors of the tragic ordeal as they’re still traumatized. He adds that this could also jeopardise police investigations.
Cele adds that some of the women who suffered the rape are quiet young and to leave the questioning and investigation to the police.
The Minister said they will speed up DNA testing in a bid to identify the exact perpetrators in the rape incident.
“We need the real perpetrators among those people. The evidence that has been collected, biological evidence as I have said, will have to help us to link the real perpetrators. Some as collected are foreign nationals yes. But we need these perpetrators,” he says.
84 suspects have been arrested. Some are believed to be linked to the attack. Majority of them are likely to face charges related to illegal mining, possession of explosives, contravention of the immigration act as well as the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
84 suspects have been arrested following the Krugersdorp gang rape incident:
DNA expedition
General Khosi Senthumule is leading the investigations.
Senthumule explains, “We have a team that is established within the forensic to help us expedite the DNA. Because remember these are foreign nationals not all of them would be on our data base. So the team is working around the clock.”
81 of the arrested men, mostly believed to be zama zamas and foreign nationals will appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
Two other suspects were fatally shot, while another was injured and is recovering in hospital.
