Bolt ‘rapist’ cannot be granted bail, investigating officer tells court

An alleged serial rapist accused of preying on customers while working as a Bolt driver accosted his first victim less than two weeks after signing with the popular e-hailing app, according to the state.

The 25 year old, who cannot be named until he has tendered an official plea but has now been suspended by Bolt, appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to apply for bail. In opposition, state advocate Given Mbedzi told the court he had been employed on 9 January and had allegedly raped four women – three of whom were customers.

The first, Mbedzi said further, was raped on 17 January, and the last on 24 February. Mbedzi described the accused as a “serial rapist” and said there was a high chance he would re-offend if he were released on bail.

“In this matter we are looking at incidents which happened in a space of two months. What message will the court send if the court grants the applicant bail when he has already threatened these victims?” he said.

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In an affidavit he submitted in support of bail, the accused conceded he had been charged with rape previously but said the case had subsequently been withdrawn.

He insisted he was innocent of the current charges and indicated he planned on pleading not guilty. He suggested one of the complainants had accused him of raping her in a revenge bid, following a dispute over fares and that he was the victim of a case of mistaken identity by the other three.

In an affidavit the investigating officer submitted on behalf of the state, however, he laid out the eerily similar ordeals of all four of the complainants. One among them had said she knew the accused by face and that he had approached her while she was standing in a queue at the bank.

The other three, however, all said they had met the accused after they had requested lifts through Bolt and he had arrived to collect them. All the complainants said he had driven them to isolated areas after indicating he needed to fill his car but then driving straight past the petrol station.

There were also multiple accounts of him having prophesied to his victims before raping them and of threatening to go to a sangoma if they reported him afterwards.

“He cannot be granted bail,” the investigating officer said in his affidavit, pointing to the seriousness of the crime and the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in South Africa.

“He is cruel and disrespectful of women who have given him business,” he added.

A ruling is expected on Wednesday.