The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng has confirmed that a group of armed men yesterday attacked a production company which was shooting a music video at West Village mine dump outside Krugersdorp. The ten armed men also raped eight of the women, before robbing them of their belongings.
Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed the horrific incident, saying police had been awoken at around midnight to attend to the scene. He said there had been a group of about 22 people – 12 women and ten men – involved in the music video production. About two hours after they arrived, at around 5pm, they were attacked by 10 men wearing balaclavas.
They tried to run away, said Cele, but the armed men shot at them. The suspects then raped eight of the women, who ranged in age from 19 to 35. Cele said one of the woman was raped by ten men, another by eight, another by six and so on.
They were all robbed, and all their stuff was taken including their shoes. Even the men were stripped down. Many were left naked, some with just their underpants on.
Describing it as a “bad situation”, Cele said most of the victims were young girls from Johannesburg, from Alex.
Cele confirmed three of the suspects have been arrested already, and police confirmed there had been a shootout between them and the suspects.
Social Cohesion Advocate Yusuf Abramjee tweeted: “West Village Krugersdorp: A group of ‘Zama Zamas’ attacked a film crew last night and robbed them. Several women were raped.”
SAPS says the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, has mobilised maximum resources to hunt down the perpetrators. The Police have registered cases of rape and armed robbery.
