More than 80 men suspected in the gang-rapes of eight women and the armed robbery of a video production team in the South African town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, have appeared in court.
The men were arrested at an abandoned mining site after the rapes and robbery near the disused mine.
The suspects are allegedly illegal miners known as zama-zamas who dig for gold in the many closed mine shafts in the Johannesburg area. Many of the miners are foreigners, according to local reports. Zama-zama gangs of illegal miners are also to blame for widespread crime in the area, according to local people.
The gang rapes occurred when a crew filming a music video in one of the abandoned mines was attacked by gunmen on Thursday last week, police said.
“The crew of 22 people, 12 women and 10 men, were busy filming a music video when they were allegedly attacked by a group of armed men dressed in blankets,” Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lt. general Elias Mawela, in a statement. statement
“The suspects ordered everyone to lie down and proceeded to rape eight of the women and stole all their belongings before fleeing the scene,” he said. All of the crew’s video footage was stolen. Police were investigating 32 rape cases, he said.
Laboratory studies of DNA samples from the raped women would be used to identify the perpetrators, National Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Monday.
Others arrested are expected to face additional charges of illegal immigration and illegal mining.
More than 300 people protested outside the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court on Monday to express their fury at the violations. News of the gang-rapes and robbery has angered women’s and community organizations in the area, who have complained that such incidents are widespread around Krugersdorp.
“We are going to demand that the police station be placed under administration because the community has reported many crimes committed by the zama-zamas but nothing has been done,” said Zandile Dabula, secretary general of Operation Dudula, an organization that protest against illegal immigrants in South Africa and joined the protest in front of the court.
“They are clearly not dealing with crime in this area, so they should be put under administration,” Dabula said.