Rape victim longs for justice

Emotionally and mentally drained, traumatised, in dire straits and frustrated by what she describes as an “uncaring and negligent” law enforcement system, a multiple-rape victim has resorted to writing an open letter to the Minister of Police, Brigadier Bheki Cele, pleading for justice.

She has also lashed out at the Department of Health and the Department of Justice.

ALSO READ:

 Where is the justice for evicted community members?

“I have done everything possible and I have also gone onto almost every media platform to attract attention and justice to my plight,” laments the woman, who says her ordeals have destroyed her life.

She further claims that due to the rapes her young children were removed from her custody by social workers after a court declared her unfit to care for them.

As I read her letter, it dawned on me, as it will on you, too, just how deeply our law enforcement’s dignity has been tarnished in the eyes of those who rely upon them for justice. The Kathorus rape survivor, whom we’ve decided to call “Jane” in this column, to protect her name from being further dragged through the mud, describes the four rapes as “the most traumatic experiences I have ever had to live through”.

“Jane” goes on to describe Khatorus MAIL as her “favourite lokshin paper” and expresses her gratitude to the newspaper for not only providing her with a platform to highlight her plight, but also for assisting her to revive two of her previously dormant rape cases with the local Ramokonopi SAPS’s domestic violence and trauma unit.

She says this later led to her case being reassigned to a new investigating detective, who later to took her to trauma and pretrial assessment counseling facility to prepare her for a possible court appearance in the event of the arrest of the suspects.

But she claims in her letter to the police minister that almost four months have passed since she underwent all these processes, which gave her hope that her case would finally be investigated and those responsible would be imprisoned.

However, Jane claims that everything has ground to a halt and the detective has not been in contact with her since the counseling sessions.

In her letter to Cele, which is written in isiZulu, Jane says: “I have come forward in different publications to share how I had suffered harrowing gang-rape ordeals at the hands of criminals in four separate incidents, since my teenage life until my early 30s”.

She adds: “I will also detail for you why I believe the criminal justice system has let me down in all four gang-rape incidents.”

She goes on to describe how she was first raped when she was just 14 years old. “This resulted in my innocence being violated and I was infected with HIV,” she writes.

ALSO READ: 

Friend seeks justice for murder

She claims the second rape incident happened in 2013 when she was in her late 20s and that the most recent two incidents happened in 2015 and again in 2016.

Jane claims that in the last two incidents she was able to identify her assailants and supplied the police with the details of one of her attackers, yet no arrests were effected by the police.

“Minister, let me put aside the two first incidents that happened because I lost all the documents relating to the case during a robbery. I lost the file with important details about those two cases. I can’t even recall the case numbers,” she claims.

“But when it comes to the two recent incidents which happened in 2015 and 2016, my heart bleeds because I was brutally assaulted, gang-raped and in one of the incidents my phone was stolen. But I was able to identify the suspects. Yet they are all roaming around the streets freely.

“I have been sent from pillar to post trying to seek justice for myself. I have been to Katlehong Ramokonopi Police Station where the case was registered. I have also been to different radio stations, newspapers, television shows and recently visited the Hawks’ offices to report the matter, but no one seems to be winning in getting me the justice I deserve,” she writes.

“Even if I call the investigating officer, he does not pick up my calls anymore,” she further claims.

She says this has left her traumatised: “Other people think I am mad, but it is because of the trauma I suffered after the incidents. The trauma is not only caused by the fact that I was raped, but also because each time it happens I am denied justice by people who are supposed to be protecting me.

“It seems no one sees me as the kind of person who deserve justice. The only time the police helped me was when they took me to Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus after the last incident.”

Jane further claims after she booked into the Teddy Bear Clinic for counseling and mental health assessment, she was told to wait for the report from the clinic to see if she would be fit to stand trial. She also claims in her letter that she was elated when the investigating officer informed her that he would be going to the SAPS Forensic Laboratory in Pretoria to obtain DNA samples taken at the hospital where she treated after the sexually assault.

But nothing has come of her efforts, she says.

“I still meet these culprits on the streets and they are making a mockery of me. Maybe I am the one who does not understand how justice works. How long does it take to obtain DNA samples out of the forensic laboratory?” she asked.

ALSO READ: May justice be done for the sake of sanity

“Maybe if you can intervene in this case on my behalf, Minister, I can get answers to these questions that none of the police are is able to answer. What happened to the first DNA report that was supposed to be on the docket?”

Jane concludes her letter with a tearful plea to Minister Cele: “Please intervene, Minister. Maybe if I can see these people behind bars, I will be able to reclaim my life.”

At the time of going to press, Kathorus MAIL’s attempts to reach the investigating officer concerned were unsuccessful.

Follow us on these social media platforms: