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camera blow to 'miniskirt'

Zinhle Mapumulo

Zinhle Mapumulo

Hopes of ever capturing the taxi drivers who allegedly stripped naked four women and sexually assaulted one of them for wearing miniskirts at Noord Street taxi rank at the weekend are very slim.

This after news that CCTV cameras did not pick up Sunday's incident showing the alleged attacks on the women by taxi drivers.

Johannesburg Metro police yesterday admitted to Nwabisa Ngcukana, one of the victims, that they might never capture her attackers.

Metro police chief Chris Ngcobo said none of the video footage viewed showed the incidents. Despite no video support material, Ngcobo assured the woman that they were going to put a stop to this barbaric practice.

Ngcukana yesterday met Metro police top brass at their headquarters in Sophiatown.

In a bid to reassure the young woman that police are behind her, Ngcobo ordered that a raid be conducted at the notorious Noord Street taxi rank in the afternoon. But the raid turned out to be a search and seizure operation, a far cry from the intended aim of identifying the culprits.

Metro police officers searched drivers and their minibus taxis. Most of the drivers were clueless as to what the police were doing at the rank.

They kept mumbling among themselves that police were searching for drivers with outstanding fines.

A handful of officers stood outside the rank, keeping a close eye on the situation, while others were pulling taxis over. One person was arrested during the "raid" for possession of an illegal firearm.

This dealt a blow to Ngcukana and other women who were hoping that her attackers would be brought to book.

She said: "I am sad that police could not find my attackers because they will continue doing the same thing.

"I do not know how I'm I going to go to work because taxis that pass near my workplace are at Noord taxi rank. But I am afraid to go there because the attackers operate there and will be able to recognise me," said Ngcukana.

Ngcukana opened a case of indecent assault at the Johannesburg Central police station yesterday.

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