Cape Town - A woman is living in fear after she was raped and the suspect torched her shack while she was in it.
The nightmare began when two men kicked down the 28-year-old’s door on Friday night.
The unsuspecting woman was in bed with her girlfriend in her Khayelitsha home.
She said the perpetrators were armed “and they demanded our phones, money and anything that could be found to sell”.
“At the time we were in bed, naked, the one suspect pulled off the blankets and then made a comment about us having sex, and said he would rape both of us.
“He climbed on top of me and shoved a gun in my mouth and asked his friend if he should kill me. The friend said no, they should go but he continued to rape me. He pointed the gun at me the whole time.
“When he was done he took a jug with water and threw some at my partner’s face and assaulted her and then with the rest of the water he washed my vagina, I guess to wash off the evidence.”
The devastated woman said the suspect then started a fire.
“He ordered me to stay in the shack and said he wanted me to die there. He then took my girlfriend to the main house and said she must knock and ask for money from my mother. The flames became bigger and I ran out and saw that they had left after failing to gain access.”
The woman said the incident left her wracked with fear.
“He was arrested on Saturday around 1am, but when we went to court, we were told he wasn’t there. The investigating officer said he appeared in court and that he was sent to Pollsmoor. The scary thing is that we saw him while we were trying to find out where he could be. The police said they would investigate what happened.
“In the meantime, we are very scared he might come back and finish what he started; we don’t know where to go. We are racked with fear, I’m emotionally scarred.
“After sharing this story on Facebook, the suspect sent me a message which asked what the problem was.”
Action Society’s Ian Cameron said it’s as though the State no longer takes these cases seriously.
“Regardless of gender preferences, what worries me the most is that these offenders are not on their first offence; he’s likely out on bail for something as serious or worse, but he continues to do what he does, it’s the same as Siphokazi Booi and others.
“The State is complicit in these cases. The poor investigative performance from SAPS and prosecutorial work from the NPA together is a recipe for disaster. The sad thing is some of the police do try to do the right thing, but they don’t get the leadership and support because the police and NPA are so politicised.”
NGO Ilitha Labantu’s spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said: “As an organisation that advocates for the rights of women and children for over 34 years, we are concerned about the high number of cases of rape, particularly given the fact that we are in Women’s Month.
“It is sad that when a crime is committed against a woman, eight times out of 10 a woman would be raped.”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said they were investigating a case of rape and arson.