Image for illustration: iStock
An alleged serial rapist was killed in a shootout with police in Mandeni near KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday.
According to police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a multi-disciplinary operation was conducted at 10:50.
“The team proceeded to Skhalambazo Road in Mandeni, where the suspected serial rapist was hiding. The police officers asked the suspect to open the door but he refused. The door was then forced opened and, upon opening the door, the suspect attempted to shoot the police officers. The suspect was fatally wounded during the confrontation. An illegal firearm with four rounds of ammunition was found in the suspect’s possession,” Mbele said.
The man was linked to seven cases of rape and charges of robbery.
Mbele said from July until December this year, he would target women, aged between 22 and 29, via social media. He called himself “Vivian Chili” on social media. Mbele said he would then take his victims to a secluded area in the bushes along the Mandeni railway line, where he would rape them numerous times at gunpoint and rob them of their belongings.
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