Parents worry after eight girls raped in Hammanskraal in a month
“These children are very young and this will scar them for life.”
The family members of a group of girls, who were raped in Temba, have raised their concerns over the safety of women in the area.
According to police, the three girls, aged between 13, 15 and 17, were walking around 19:30 on Saturday when a man held them at gunpoint and ordered them to accompany him to his shack.
“Inside the shack, there was another man with dreadlocks. Both of the men then repeatedly raped the 13- and 17-year-old until 06:00 in the morning,” Temba police spokesperson Herman Moremi said.
Moremi said the two men left the girls in the shack and ran away.
“Community members went to the shack and demolished it. The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual offence Unit (FCS) is investigating a case of rape.
“Police established that one of the suspects is wanted for another case in which he held someone at gunpoint.”
Speaking to Rekord on behalf of the families, an uncle of one of the girls said the families are all not coping with what had happened.
He said the girls had been constantly crying since the incident happened.
“These children are very young and this will scar them for life. You can imagine how they feel about what happened.
“I do not know how they will get over this but we are hoping God will give them strength to help them cope. As for the families, we would like to see the police make arrests and for the perpetrators to be brought to book.”
The area has recently been plagued by similar cases.
Three weeks ago, five women were allegedly raped and robbed near a river in Bosplaas West.
According to Moremi, the women were on their way back from a tavern in Ramaphosa informal settlement when they were stopped by a group of six men in a car.
The men then ordered the women into the car at gunpoint.
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“They then drove them to a field in Bosplaas next to Tshwane river where four of the men raped the women. Two of the suspects sat in the car drinking. They also robbed the women of all their belongings, including all their clothes.”
Moremi said the women were found by a passerby who took them to the police station.
A community member Meikie Matlala said it has become a living nightmare for girls and women in the Hammanskraal area.
“I have a girl and I can only imagine what the families are going through.
“I am really scared for my girl. Our children are being raped by people who are supposed to be protecting them.”
Matlala said it is going to be difficult for her to even allow her girl to go to a shop because of all the rape cases that have been reported in the area.
“This makes me so sceptical because young girls cannot just walk around without worrying about a man harassing them.”
EFF ward 8 candidate councillor Jacob Temane said the community was not happy about what happened.
“I would like to offer my condolences to the families, as a parent, it must not be easy for them. It has also not been easy for us as the community.
“As the community, we would also like to work with the police in whatever way we can to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book because we cannot afford to have such criminals in our area.”
Temane said he would be speaking to the police about strategies they can implement to curb crime in the area
Moremi urged the community to assist them with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects in all cases involved.
“The community needs to be vigilant as one of the suspects is still armed and can still harm anyone. Anyone with information can call Temba SAPS on 0127179000 or Crime Stop line 08600 10111.”
He said they would also like to also advise parents to monitor the movement of their kids at all times.
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