A screengrab of the video posted by @sisteresthery on X.
South Africans have been left horrified and angered by gender-based violence (GBV) after a video of a man seemingly forcing himself on a woman at a bus stop went viral.
The South African Police Service (Saps) in Brooklyn, Tshwane, have registered an inquiry and are following up on an incident that has gone viral on social media.
X (formerly Twitter) user @sisteresthery posted a 40-second video on the platform on Sunday evening where she reported that she witnessed GBV at a bus stop near Isa Carstens Academy in Lynnwood Road at around 5:15pm.
The video, viewed over 1.2 million times, shows a man and woman huddled at the bus stop’s corner pole.
The man is seen to have his arms wrapped around the woman, while the people who captured the video also showed a white Volkswagen vehicle parked on the side of the road with the license plate visible.
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The man in the video appeared to be trying to force a kiss on the woman, who appeared to be trying to push him away; however, she couldn’t because the man’s arms were around her neck.
25 seconds into the video, the person capturing the video can be heard trying to interrupt the duo, saying, “She doesn’t want any more”, in Tswana. Another male’s voice is also heard suggesting to the witnesses to call the police.
@sisteresthery added in her caption that the man allegedly threatened the witnesses with a firearm and implied that the woman was forced into the Volkswagen vehicle.
“He threatened us with a gun. If you see this car, please alert the police ASAP, as she isn’t in the car willingly,” she wrote.
After the video went viral on X, the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster responded on Monday morning that the police have been tasked with investigating the matter and providing feedback on the matter.
The cluster confirmed later that the Brooklyn Police Station commander Brigadier Kushie Pietersen reported to Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni that no criminal cases were reported in the area by the victim(s).
“The alleged perpetrator has been identified as a 38-year-old African male, whose identity cannot be disclosed at this stage,” the cluster posted.
“An inquiry has been registered by the Saps, and a follow-up investigation will be conducted.”
The cluster also confirmed that Lieutenant Colonel Maphala has been appointed as an investigating officer of the inquiry.
“We encourage the victim(s) to lay criminal charges relating to this incident,” the cluster posted.
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