Three Zanzou bar victims come forward and lay charges

The three victims who were allegedly assaulted at the Zanzou bar and lounge in Pretoria have come forward to open cases at the Brooklyn police station.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed on Monday evening that the three had reported to the station.

Case opened

“Three victims that were allegedly assaulted at the Pretoria establishment have reported at the Brooklyn police station to open cases. The Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Lt Gen Mthombeni, is at the station.”

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Gauteng police announced that they were tracking and tracing those responsible for allegedly sexually assaulting and torturing men following the circulation of graphic videos.

Videos

The disturbing and graphic videos, reportedly shared by a former employee, surfaced on social media on Monday, where a group of men were allegedly waterboarded and subjected to other forms of sexual mistreatment by bouncers at Zanzou in Hatfield.

The videos sparked outrage from social media users who called for legal action to be taken. Some suggested that the acts were torture.

Zanzou responds

Zanzou management, in a statement, acknowledged the “practices” carried out by its bouncers and called the videos “historical”. Although some on social media speculated the practices were linked to non-payment of bills, the club said they were related to phone theft at the club.

“The video is in no way connected to any patrons not settling any outstanding bill amounts as falsely stated on numerous social media platforms,” the club said.

The nightclub said that upon learning about the incidents, management immediately launched an investigation, ended the “practices,” and dismissed the security personnel.

Offences

Mathe said that at this stage, the police were looking at various offences that have been committed, including assault, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, crimen injuria, and kidnapping.

“The actions depicted in the video also contravene the POPI (Protection of Personal Information) Act in which they displayed and distributed the faces and bodily features of the victims,” said Mathe.

She said an additional charge of rape, sexual penetration without consent and sexual assault (being forced to participate in sexual acts) may be added to this case.

“The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations Unit in the SAPS is responsible for the investigation of sexual offences cases. Should the investigation also reveal that some of the victims are or were underage when the videos were taken, a charge of manufacturing, possession and distributing child pornography may be added.”

‘Barbaric’

National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola described the incident depicted in the videos as “inhumane, barbaric, unacceptable, and degrading”.

Masemola directed the provincial commissioner of Gauteng, Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, to track and trace the former bouncers linked to the incident.

Additional reporting by Chulumanco Mahamba

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