A 19-year-old man accused of raping two six-year-old girls was nearly beaten to death by enraged residents of the Soul City informal settlement on Wednesday, 26 August.

According to Captain Solomon Sibiya, the Kagiso Police spokesperson, the young suspect is currently under police guard at a local hospital following an attack and assault by residents who accused him of raping two six-year-old girls. The incident occurred at about 1pm.

“The mother of one of the minor victims alleged that she was inside her shack with a friend. Her daughter was playing in the yard and her friend’s daughter also arrived and invited her daughter to a nearby playground. Some minutes later their neighbour’s son came running in to inform them that a man wearing a balaclava arrived and ordered the boys to go home. He then took the girls with him towards some bushes.

The girls’ mothers immediately blew a whistle and followed the boy to the bushes. They noticed one of the minor victims coming out of the bushes in tears and bleeding from the lower body. The man was still in the process of raping the other minor when residents pounced on him.

“He fled the scene but residents caught him at an open space next to Chamdor industrial area. They assaulted him and the police was called to the scene. He was taken to a local hospital in a critical but stable condition, having sustained severe injuries to the head and upper body.”

Sibiya said the two minor victims were also taken to hospital for medical treatment and examination. A case docket of two counts of rape was opened at the Kagiso Police and is being investigated by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.

Brigadier Themba Maduna, the Kagiso Police station commander said, “We must accept that there are cruel and dangerous individuals within our communities. We always need to be extra vigilant by watching our children like hawks, and also educate them not to associate with or talk to strangers.”