Africa-Press – South-Africa. Port Elizabeth – Five alleged gangsters have been arrested in connection with the gruesome murder and rape of a 14-year-old Port Elizabeth teenage girl, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Eastern Cape said on Sunday.
It was alleged that at about 8.30 am on Thursday, January 7, police received information of a body of a teenage girl lying in bushes between Gelvandale and Algoa Park in Port Elizabeth, Colonel Priscilla Naidu said in a statement.
“She [the victim] sustained multiple stab wounds. On Friday, 8 January 2021, she was identified as Patronicia (Mandy) Jordaan, 14, from Kobus Road in Helenvale. She was last seen by a relative on Monday, 4 January 2021 in Kobus Road,” Naidu said.
The SAPS 72-hour activation plan was immediately implemented and a task team comprising of SAPS Gelvandale detectives, crime intelligence officers, the provincial crime scene investigation unit, anti-gang unit , public order policing, CIT combating team, and the state pathologist’s office was established.
The hunt for the suspects began at 6am on Saturday morning, and at about 7.15 am, the first two suspects were arrested at a house in Old Stanford Road in Port Elizabeth. A few minutes later, three other suspects were rounded up at houses in Bongo and Pienaar streets. All the suspects had gang affiliations and were aged between 18 and 33. Further arrests were expected, Naidu said.
It was further alleged that on Tuesday evening, January 5, at about 9.30 pm, Jordaan was in the accompany of 12 men at a house in Bongo Street “which is used for smoking drugs”.
“She was allegedly gang raped. At about [3 am] on Wednesday, 6 January 2021, everyone left the house and split up, with Ms Jordaan in the company of six males. On Thursday, 7 January 2021, her body was discovered.“
The arrested suspects would appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrates’ Court on Monday on charges of rape and murder, Naidu said.
Eastern Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga expressed her shock and sadness at “such a heinous act of violence against a helpless child”, and applauded the multi-disciplinary team who cracked the gruesome murder case.
“Violence against children is totally intolerable. Therefore we will ensure that these [alleged] perpetrators are denied bail. The occurrence and societal problem of gender-based violence continues to be a profound and widespread problem in our country.
“The SAPS further reiterates its commitment to eradicate and eliminate all forms of gender-based violence and we call on our citizens to unite against this sick scourge,” Ntshinga said.
African News Agency (ANA)
