The management of police in Limpopo have had enough with escalating number of rapes being committed on a daily basis, so much that they have now declared war against rapists.
The police will from now on act without any leniency in the application of the law and some rapists might face charges of attempted murder, in accordance with the provision of the Sexual Offenses Act , Act no 32 of 2007 as amended.
All rape suspects will be subjected to an HIV test and if the results come back positive a charge of attempted murder will be added on top of the original rape charge. A murder charge will be imposed on a serial rapist whose some of his victims has died due to HIV related complications.
The provincial police management are still reeling with shock after a 121 rape cases were reported since the beginning of the New Year. The statistic is awful and the police have vowed not to sit down and fold arms.
Tzaneen cluster was the main contributor with 27 rape cases reported, followed by the Polokwane cluster where 17 women were raped. Giyani cluster was third with 12 rape cases reported. The police have strengthened their relationship with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, with the sole aim of dealing harshly with rapists.
Limpopo Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Simon Mpembe has called upon the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units and all investigating officers dealing with rape cases to be more ruthless and unsympathetic when dealing with rapists.
“We cannot have a situation where women are afraid to live in fear of being raped. Although we are urging our women not to hitch hike and walk alone in deserted or isolated areas, we are seriously also re-evaluating our strategies to prevent rapes and wannabe rapists must be pre warned that they will meet the full might of the law”, a fuming Mpembe said.
He added that rape victims must report a case immediately after the ordeal and they must not take a bath to allow for smooth investigations and admissibility of evidence afterwards. “We have people who are trained to deal with rape victims so no one should feel embarrassed or ashamed to open a rape case. Once a man force himself onto you and you do nothing about it, chances are that he will do it again”, Mpembe added.
Enquiries:
Hangwani Mulaudzi
Cell: 082 373 2408
