Two rapes with a strange twist brought a shadow over the city centre this month.
In the first, the victim was a lesbian woman and in the second crime a man was kidnapped and raped by another man.
Whether this victim was also a member of the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex) community was not immediately clear.
Sunnyside police spokesperson, Captain Daniel Mavimbelan, said the lesbian woman was apparently raped in a flat in Sunnyside.
He said the victim (24) was visiting a friend where the culprit and the friend’s boyfriend were also present.
“It is reported that the alleged rape occurred after the couple [the friend and her boyfriend] left the flat to buy food.”
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The alleged assailant appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The matter was postponed for further investigation and would be back in court on 4 October.
He remained in custody.
The man was said to be from a central African country where same-sex relationships were taboo.
Mavimbela said his address still needed to be confirmed to establish whether he had any previous convictions.
In the second crime, the man was abducted in Sandton, said police spokesperson Sergeant Tsietsi Lamola.
“It is alleged the victim was captured in Sandton and brought to Pretoria,” said Lamola.”
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A rape, kidnapping and assault is under investigation by a family violence child protection and sexual offences unit.
A 30-year-old man was arrested over the crime after a manhunt in central Pretoria on Sunday.
He appeared over the crime in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The matter was postponed to next Tuesday and the man remained in custody.
An LGBTI activist, who asked not be named, said police were not properly trained with rape cases involving the LGBTI community members.
“Many of the police carry a dominant patriarchal ideology including female police officers who propagate that ideology,” he said.
“Police will ask a victim questions such as ‘what were you wearing, oh, but you look like a strong person. How were you raped?’.”
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters had a different view.
She said police were well trained to deal with the LGBTI community.
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“Police are adequately trained to deal with vulnerable people. We
even have a unit called the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit,” she said.
“They deal with such issues. Minister Fikile Mbalula has also urged all police to prioritise these cases,” said Peters.
She urged anyone, including members of the LGBTI community, to report the matter to police management whenever they felt unfairly treated.
National or provincial management would investigate such complaints, said Peters.
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