The Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, has welcomed the arrest of a man who could be South Africa’s worst serial rapist, and praised the forensic work that led to him being linked to many of the victims.
Police believe that at least 76 children between the ages of six and 12 were victims of the man, who cannot be named until he pleads to the charges against him in court on June 6 in Gauteng. He has been charged with rape, kidnapping and assault and is believed to be linked to rapes that began in Lulekani, Limpopo, in 2007 and encompass Tembisa, Ivory Park, Olifantsfontein, Kliptown, Elodorado Park and Freedom Park.
“The SAPS is working hard to bring rapists to justice, but the caseload is extensive and we as a society need to look at the root causes of rape,” said the Minister.
Quoting from a study published by the Medical Research Council in 2011 the Minister said that most men who admitted to rape expressed a sense of sexual entitlement. Drug use and gang membership were also found to play a role.
“The authors of this study concluded that society needs to complement the response of the criminal justice system,” said the Minister. “The police can and will find and arrest rapists, but we need to change the mind-set of people as well by promoting gender equality and changing dominant ideas of masculinity and gender relations as part of rape prevention. Reducing men's exposure to trauma in childhood is also critically important.”
The Minister said the establishment of the SAPS’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) has played a significant role in bringing rapists to justice. “Over the past three years 1 187 rapists have been sentenced to life imprisonment, 499 in the 2012/13 period alone,” he said.
The detection rate for crimes against children under 18 has also improved from 64.92 per cent in 2012 to 77.7 per cent in 2013, and the percentage of cases brought to court has risen from 50.38 per cent in 2012 to 55.62 per cent in 2013. 62.9 per cent of the cases resulted in convictions in 2013, an improvement of 2.11 per cent over the previous year.
The detection rate for crimes against women over the age of 18 has also improved from 59.24 per cent in 2012 to 73.33 per cent in 2013, with an improvement in the conviction rate of 2.73 per cent.
“Progress is being made and we are working hard with the SAPS to improve things further,” said Minister Mthethwa, “but this is a task not just for the police but for every single person in South Africa. We need to stand united against the abuse of women and children and not rest until it is completely stamped out.”
For enquiries, please contact:
Jenni Irish Qhobosheane
Acting Chief of Staff to the Minister of Police
Tel: 012 393 2519
Cell: 082 043 5732
