By Jehran Daniel
Durban - The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal have urged local law enforcement agencies to swiftly arrest a suspected serial rapist in the Mtwalume area on the South Coast of the province.
“Shockingly, this happens at a time when the country is commemorating Women’s Month,” the ANC’s provincial spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela said on Thursday.
“The ANC views the attacks directed at women as an insult to our young democracy and a direct attack on the bravery of women who were at the forefront of liberating this country.
"We therefore call upon the minister of police to send a strong crime investigation specialists/team to that area,” said Ntombela.
Ntombela said the ANC has considered the community of Mtwalume’s call for a satellite police station to be installed.
Furthermore, the ANC spokesperson said the party has since prompted the provincial government to develop a “comprehensive strategy” in order to combat the surge in gender-based violence cases.
According to Ntombela, this notion came after the release of the national crime statistics a few weeks ago, which indicated a rise in such cases.
The statistics released by the South African police revealed that more than 42 289 women were raped in South Africa in the 2019/2020 period.
The report, which was released in late July, showed that the Inanda area in KwaZulu-Natal had reported the highest number of rape cases.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Ugu District on the South Coast said the new crime data had led KZN to being dubbed the “rape capital” of the country.
DA Ugu District caucus leader Leonard Ngcobo has since urged the Minister of Police Bheki Cele to pay more attention to the safety of women in the country.
“A month ago we requested Minister Cele to investigate these allegations after four women were found raped and brutally killed in the same area. We are yet to receive a response and no arrests have been made,” said Ngcobo.
“Cele has been silent and is clearly not treating this matter with the urgency that is deserved. Women are dying and he would rather focus on imposing nonsensical laws during the national lockdown.”
According to Ngcobo, the government has “made it easy for perpetrators to do as they please, knowing they will not be arrested for their crimes”.
African News Agency/ANA