More than 80 people appeared in a South African court on Monday following the gang rape of 8 women, which caused a big shock in this country where violent crimes are frequent, but the detainees were not charged precisely because of the crime of rape.
Last Thursday, a group of armed men broke into the set of a music video and raped eight young women on set near Krugersdorp, a small town west of Johannesburg.
No one has yet been charged with the gang rape, but police have filed charges against illegal immigrants working in the mines in the area and arrested 84 people during the raid.
Police sources said two suspects were killed in a shootout with police and a third was wounded.
The detainees appeared today (Monday) before the court on the grounds that they entered the country illegally and have stolen property.
National Police Chief Fanny Massimola said an investigation was underway to determine if the suspects were involved in the rape.
An AFP correspondent reported that a small group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse to demand justice, with signs reading “No protection for rapists” and “Will I be the next victim?” and “My body is not a crime scene.”
For his part, President Cyril Ramaphosa called these “horrific atrocities” “an affront to the rights of women and young women,” saying “rapists have no place in our society.”
“What happened in Krugersdorp is a disgrace to the nation,” Police Minister Becky Seeley told a press conference, adding that the victims would suffer the consequences “for life.”
This tragedy sparked a discussion in South Africa about whether chemical castration of rapists should be introduced.
It also increases pressure on the government, whose opponents say security forces are ill-equipped to fight crime in a country that has one of the highest murder rates in the world and has recently witnessed massacres.
