LIMPOPO – It is alleged one of the two suspects fired a shot towards the women (aged 18 and 21) and then held them at gunpoint as he and his accomplice dragged them into the nearby bushes and took turns raping them, said Police Spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe.
“After the ordeal the two victims managed to run to the nearby village for assistance and the residents responded in large numbers and hunted down the rapists until they caught them.”
The police were notified and the two suspects, aged 21 and 23, were then arrested and a firearm, magazine, ammunition and two cell phones were recovered.
The suspects will soon appear before the Bolobedu Magistrate’s Court. The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba has commended members of the community in arresting these suspects and handing them over to the police without taking the law into their own hands.
Meanwhile in the Letsitele Policing area outside Tzaneen, a 34-year-old woman was raped by an unknown man on Saturday, 13 April. “The victim was praying inside a church when an unknown man, with a covered face, attacked her with a sharp object, dragged her outside the church to a nearby village of Nwamitoa where he tied her up and raped her,” said Ngoepe.
The police has urged anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects involved in the Letsitele incident, to contact Colonel Cecil Machimane at 082 451 7181. Alternatively they can contact the 24-hour crime stop number on 0860010111, the crime Line SMS 32211 or the nearest Police Station.
The South African Police Service in Limpopo has reiterated their earnest call for women and children safety across the province following these two separate incidents of rape.
