ActionSA calls for the suspension of eMbalenhle cops who turned assaulted woman away
eMbalenhle Police Station’s commander is conducting an internal investigation into an incident where an assault victim was turned away. She was later also raped.
eMBALENHLE – An incident where an assault victim (36) who was turned away at the eMbalenhle Police Station also became a rape victim, is being investigated.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, told Ridge Times that the station commander, Colonel Maria Sibanyoni, is conducting an internal investigation.
Mohlala said the report will be submitted to the Mpumalanga police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, who will then give direction on what needs to happen.
The woman allegedly went to the eMbalenhle Police Station on Saturday night, November 5, to report that she had been assaulted.
Police members on duty allegedly did not open a case, but told the woman to go to the clinic for an examination by medical personnel who would then complete a J88 form to note the woman’s injuries.
The woman was on her way to the clinic when a stranger, armed with a sharp object, threatened to stab and kill her if she did not obey his instructions.
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The man allegedly dragged the woman to an open field and raped her. He then escorted her to the clinic and left her at the gate.
Police, however, claimed that they were not able to help the woman because she was intoxicated. They later opened rape and assault cases after the incident.
ActionSA also condemned the incident in a statement to the media.
“What we call the criminal justice system, is nothing more than a series of discretionary decisions by innumerable officials. Rape in South Africa is systemic and endemic,” said Thoko Mashiane, the chairman of ActionSA in Mpumalanga.
“The country’s annual police crime statistics confirm this.
“There were 42 289 rapes reported in 2019/2020, as well as 7 749 sexual assaults. This translates into about 115 rapes a day.
“The alleged perpetrator of the rape must be arrested without delay and Lieutenant General Manamela must suspend the officials that were on duty when the victim came to report the initial assault.
“ActionSA calls upon the Independent Police Directorate to investigate the conduct of the police implicated in the case,” said Mashiane.
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