CAPE TOWN: A Khayelitsha mother has decried the fact that it took police nearly two weeks to arrest a man accused of raping her 15-year-old daughter.
The 33-year-old said she opened a case with the police on November 20 after finding her boyfriend naked and hiding in her daughter’s room after he had allegedly threatened and then raped her eldest daughter.
The mother of four said the weeks that followed were filled with terror as the alleged perpetrator was seen roaming the streets near their home, intimidating the family and scaring her children.
The woman said she had woken up to relieve herself in the bathroom and returned to find her daughter sleeping in an awkward position. But after questioning the Grade 8 learner, she grew suspicious.
“I saw a heap of clothes besides her, I asked her what the clothes were doing there, and she said she was folding the clothes and got tired.
“I knew she was lying. I proceeded to dismantle the pile and found my boyfriend beneath them, with an erect penis,” she explained.
The angry mother said her daughter then claimed her boyfriend had threatened her before the incident.
The woman then opened a case with Harare police, which was later transferred to Site B police station without her knowing - a move that frustrated her after she experienced challenges when she approached the police for help.
“When I opened my case, I was told that I could not (do so) without my daughter being present. I eventually opened the case, and then (Harare police) went silent until I was contacted by police in Site B, who told me to call them if I saw him.”
“This upset me. How can it be me who looks for him. What is the police’s job?”
Local street committee leader Zikhona Jidane said the community was in pain and frustrated by the police’s attitude.
“We were perplexed by how the SAPS had left this case on us. Even if we did find this man, how were we going to catch and arrest him? We are pleased that the arrest finally took place.”
Polices spokesperson, Ndakhe Gwala, confirmed that the suspect was arrested on December 1 during a tracing operation.
“He will appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s court on Monday, 5 December,” she said.
Leona Chabata, from a local non-profit organisation that deals with gender-based violence (GBV), Justice Grace, said communities that speak up are able to put pressure on police to act speedily.
Weekend Argus