Homeless man allegedly raped with pole

Cape Town. 150329. Natasha Jordaan and her baby, Aphiwe, live under the N2 bridge leaving Cape Town. Their dwellings are small strucures made of plastic, cardboard and whatever else can is useful. Reporter Fran. Pic COURTNEY AFRICA

Cape Town. 150329. Natasha Jordaan and her baby, Aphiwe, live under the N2 bridge leaving Cape Town. Their dwellings are small strucures made of plastic, cardboard and whatever else can is useful. Reporter Fran. Pic COURTNEY AFRICA

Published Mar 30, 2015

Share

Cape Town - “Imagine it: you have no doors, locks or alarm systems in place. You are defenceless, totally vulnerable to threats. Street men and women get raped, abused and tortured on a daily basis – more than anyone else in my opinion. Living on the street is the toughest thing imaginable.”

That was the response of Rashaad Jacobs, 50, who has been living on the streets since the age of 15, after a fellow homeless man was allegedly sodomised with a pole in Cape Town’s CBD, causing internal injuries so severe that he required surgery.

The man’s friend, who was also allegedly raped, has since been discharged from Victoria Hospital.

The men’s identities were being withheld for their protection, Mayco member for social development and early childhood development Suzette Little said on Sunday.

Had it not been for the concern of two residents who knew the victim, the incident might have gone unreported, Little said.

“Residents approached my office (last week) after tracking down the victim, who informed them that he had been assaulted earlier this month. He had been in extreme pain ever since,” Little said.

Little said the city had established a number of initiatives to assist street people, underpinned by its Street People Policy.

“In this financial year we have nearly doubled our financial resources, and we established our Reintegration Unit a few months ago because we want to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the many people on the streets who are desperate for assistance,” said Little.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said two cases of rape were reported last Monday. Police were investigating and no arrests had been made.

The incident comes as no shock to Jacobs and other street people in the city.

Siblings Peter and Natasha Jordaan have been living under a bridge along Nelson Mandela Boulevard for the last three years. Three weeks ago a man attempted to rape Natasha. Peter was there to stop the assailant.

“My sister was sitting on the ground when a man approached. He didn’t know that I was her brother, so he showed me his knife and motioned to me what he was going to do. Luckily I also had a knife, so I chased him. As the man, I must protect my sister and her baby from these thugs,” Peter said.

Natasha’s son Aphiwe is nine months old.

“I worry each and every day about my boy. People can be so spiteful and you never know who would want to hurt you. Us street people get verbally, emotionally and physically abused by both our fellow street people and rich people every single day,” Natasha said.

Related Topics: