PRETORIA – The South African Police Service in Mpumalanga has welcomed the arrest of a 37-year-old man suspected to have orchestrated a string of rape and robbery incidents from November 2019 until his luck ran out this month at Acornhoek, near Bushbuckridge in Ehlanzeni District.
“Reports indicate that defenceless women were sadly raped as well as robbed of their personal items during the said period at both Acornhoek and Calcutta areas,” said Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson of the SAPS, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“Several cases were separately opened in that regard and members of the provincial team from Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, working with their counterparts at Acornhoek were assigned to investigate as well as ensure that the perpetrator is swiftly put behind bars.”
During the tour of their investigation, Mohlala said the police team discovered that their suspect has been operating in the area for a while, preying on women where he allegedly raped and robbed them of their belongings.
“The suspect was then apprehended at Acornhoek on Tuesday, 14 December, 2021, by a team of SAPS experts from the FCS Unit after being sought by police for more than two years. He is due to appear in the Acornhoek Magistrate's Court on Friday, 17 December, 2021, facing charges related to rapes and robberies,” Mohlala said.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga Major-General Buti Lekubu has called on community members who fell victims of violent crimes in the past but never reported such cases, to come forward and immediately report at their nearest police stations.
Lekubu has saluted the “swift reaction” by members of the specialised FCS unit which led to the arrest of the suspect.
IOL