Isipingo rape accused abandons bail application
Police Minister Bheki Cele referred to the case during the debate on the State of the Nation Address in Parliament.
A 50-YEAR-OLD man, believed to be behind a spate of rapes in Isipingo, abandoned his bid for bail after appearing in the Durban Magistrates Court on Friday, February 18 (Isipingo serial rapist arrested – February 11).
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When he was arrested, the man was suspected of raping 22 women between 2008 and 2021, with the youngest victim being only 14-years-old. Four more women pointed him out in an identity parade last week.
Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala, said the suspect would target the victims in the Durban CBD and then take them to Isipingo after promising them employment. He would lead them to a bushy area where he would rape them. The police were able to track him down after he allegedly used one of the victims’ phone. He was arrested on February 1, at his home in Malukazi near Isipingo.
Appearing in court on Friday, the suspect was expected to make a bail application, but did not make one. He did not give any reasons. The case received a special mention in Parliament when Police Minister, Bheki Cele, referred to it during the debate on the State of the Nation Address on Monday, February 14.
“Through the work of the SAPS’s Family Violence and Child Protection Unit, a suspect was arrested recently for allegedly raping 22 women, after being linked through DNA evidence collection. The alleged serial rapist was caught after using one of his victims’ cellphones,” said Cele.
The case was adjourned to April 4, while investigations continue.
