Africa-Press – South-Africa. While arrests have been made after eight women were raped and robbed on the set of a music video in Krugersdorp, there are still many unanswered questions.
So far, police have arrested more than 80 people on charges ranging from illegal mining to illegal immigration, possession of explosives and firearms, and attempted murder. But it is unclear whether any of the suspects have been linked specifically to the incident.
Two men were fatally shot after allegedly pointing firearms at police while one was receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.
What do we know so far?
According to City Press, one of the victims said a local woman who runs a modelling agency told them about the photoshoot.
“The promise was that we’d be paid R300 each. We left on Thursday morning and arrived at Cowboy Farm in Krugersdorp, where we shot the first leg of the music video. It was decided that another scene would be shot at a mine,” the victim was quoted as saying.
The exact nature of the video is still under dispute, with a source telling the Sunday Times police did not believe the crew and models were there to make a music video as has been reported.
The film crew and the models reportedly started filming on Thursday around 14:00. The women were apparently wearing scarves as skirts and standing against the mine dump.
The crew was filming when a group of men wearing blankets and balaclava masks approached, firing shots in the air. They ordered everyone to lie on their stomachs and a few minutes later, more armed men came to join them.
“They all had guns. It felt as if we were in a movie. They searched us, taking our cellphones, sneakers, socks, jackets, and cameras,” one of the victims told City Press, adding that the men on the film crew were stripped naked.
The victim added that the group of assailants included elderly men who forced the younger boys who were with them to rape the victims as well. After the men had satisfied themselves, they decided to let the captives go.
The traumatised group drove to the nearest police station and were taken to Leratong Hospital.
Fear and outrage
A resident of West Village in Krugersdorp told News24 the crime in the area is, “… an old and ongoing problem”. Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said the rapes on Thursday were one of the countless incidents the community had witnessed over the years.
She attributed high crime levels to illegal miners known as zama zamas in the area, saying they have long terrorised residents.
During the EFF rally on Saturday, party leader Julius Malema called for harsh sentencing of the rapists.
“When you rape, you kill something inside that person and they will live with it forever. They are not just rapists but murderers and we don’t want to see them in our streets. They must be confronted and locked in jail for a long time,” he said.
Meanwhile Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was overcome with emotion when he spoke about how the incident awoke his own traumatic memories of treating an eight-year-old girl, who he had to perform reconstructive surgery on after being brutally raped by her uncle.
“Every time you hear about these incidents, you think about your own daughters. I only have daughters, and you start thinking, ‘How would I react if it happens to my daughter?'” he said.
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