THE rape of a young girl in the presence of her family during a house robbery in Mzingazi on Monday morning has left police traumatised, says Richards Bay Station Commander Brenda Mgenge.
Speaking at a crime indaba on Monday evening in Richards Bay, which was spearheaded by the uThungulu District Municipal leadership, Mgenge the police are up in arms over the crime when four suspects entered a homestead, sexually assaulted the 14-year-old and robbed the family of their belongings.
‘We have had house robberies, but residents have not been raped during the incidents. This has left us wounded because we are also parents and are pained by this.’
Discussing other areas of concern, Mgenge said residential and business burglaries, greenbelts and drugs were major challenges.
She welcomed the forum which will meet regularly with stakeholders to hold dialogues over the crime situation.
‘Our mission is to bring offenders to justice and our prevalent crime is burglaries at residences and businesses.
‘Combatting crime is not a one-man show and this is why we appreciate the leadership’s effort on forming this forum.
‘We have a vibrant Community Policing Forum and all the suburbs are active, so we have seen a decline in overall crime,’ said Mgenge.
Concerned about the incidents of police killings, drug related crimes, sexual offenses and burglaries, uThungulu District Mayor Thembeka Mchunu was motivated to initiate the engagement session.
‘We realise that crime is everyone’s business and by working together, we can make the city safer for all its residents,’ Mchunu said.
