Mahalapye on edge as serial rapist(s) cause havoc
Pini Bothoko | Monday May 19, 2025 07:44
According to the police, the frequency and similarity of the attacks point to a possible pattern. Police say they are recording two to three rape cases every week, a rate that has not only shocked law enforcement but also shaken residents especially women and girls who live in constant fear of these criminals.
However, this is not a Mahalapye crisis only, even in other villages, rapists continue to cause havoc by attacking and raping women and girls in their sleep or whilst walking alone.
For years the society has been condemning rapists for their acts and the pain they inflict on their victims, something that early last year forced the government to review and increase penalties against sexual offenders. Despite the revised sanctions, crime of rape continues to worriedly spiral out of control.
In an interview, Mahalapye Acting Police Station Commander, Superintendent Moatlhodi Onalenna said from January to date they have recorded 17 rape cases of which four involved teenage victims.
Onalenna disclosed that the rapists are heartless as they even attack and rape minors. He said that they have recorded a case in which a 10-year-old girl was attacked and raped in February.
He revealed that then, the minor girl met the unknown man while returning from a tuck shop during the day, and was forcefully dragged to a river, and raped. The suspect then fled the crime scene.
“It was not the first time a child was violated because in January, a 16-year-old girl was attacked and raped at Tshikinyega ward, Mahalapye,” Onalenna told Mmegi.
“In February we also recorded two more cases in which teenagers, a 14-year-old girl and 13-year-old girl were also attacked and raped in Xhosa 1 ward and Flower Town 2 on separate incidents.”
The senior police officer added that in the same month, a 20-year-old woman was also attacked and raped in Tshikinyega ward. In the incident, he said the young woman was attacked and gang raped by three men whilst walking home from an entertainment place.
Onalenna further revealed that another teenager, a 16-year-old girl was raped in Moloko ward last week. In other cases, women were attacked and raped in their sleep and others while walking alone either during the day or at night.
“This recurring trend is why we suspect a repeat offender or multiple perpetrators operating in our community.
“The ongoing attacks have sparked fear and frustration amongst residents and the pattern of the attacks suggests calculated targeting as most victims were attacked and raped whilst walking late in the evening in bushy areas and at night when it’s dark making it easier for criminals to evade recognition and harder for victims to identify them,” he added.
Onalenna is of the view that women and girls in Mahalapye are now living in deepest fear of rapists who even attack and rape them whilst in the comfort of their bedrooms.
He said that as a result, some women have opted to use public transport even on short distances, while others are seeking escorts from friends or relatives whenever possible.
“This is a serious problem, it seems like there is a criminal(s) on the loose patrolling streets at night to pounce on unsuspecting women and girls,” he said.
“We are currently investigating two cases in which one of them a 16-year-old girl was attacked around 5pm when she was walking to church and raped in Boseja ward.”
Furthermore, Onalenna said in another case that occurred last weekend, a 28-year-old woman was attacked and raped around 4am in Tshikinyega ward when walking alone from her boyfriend’s place in Bokaa ward.
He said on the fateful morning, the young woman had decided to go home alone following a misunderstanding with her boyfriend.
“Whist walking home the victim met a stranger who dragged her to a nearby unoccupied house where he raped her and fled the crime scene.
“We have launched a probe to locate and arrest the suspect who is still at large. It’s terrifying, women and girls can no longer walk to the shops without looking over their shoulder,” Onalenna said.
However, in responding to this crisis, he revealed that they have intensified police patrols, especially at night, and through public education, they continue to try to transform men’s behaviour, but their efforts seem to be falling on deaf ears.
“No one should have to live in fear, I am pleading with men being perpetrators of rape to respect women and girls and stop sexually violating them as they please. Rape has been one of the offences keeping the police on their toes in Central District for years and we do not know how we can address men anymore because the government increased rape penalties but it seems like that does not bother them at all,” he said.