'Shut it down': residents march on suspected drug house where 12-year-old was allegedly raped by teens

“Maak dit toe!” (Close it!) 

Disgruntled community members chanted “shut it down, shut it down” during a march on Wednesday to a suspected drug house where days earlier a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by four teenagers in Elsies River, Cape Town. 

Elsies River sector 1 community policing forum (CPF) chair Ettienne Swanepoel said residents had planned to hand over a memorandum to the owner of the property.

“The CPF held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss activities at the house as this was not the first time an incident like this occurred,” he said.

“A day before the 12-year-old was raped, another attempted rape occurred. However, they got away. So it was intentional if they tried again in a short period,” said Swanepoel. 

Despite the owner not being home, the memorandum was attached to the front door. “Eject ... the unsavoury and criminal characters from your dwelling. Stop the crime,” it read. It also demanded that allowing alleged gangsters to smoke and do drugs on the property stop immediately.

The owner was given an ultimatum: get rid of the rotten apples within five days. “We will leave no stone unturned to apply the law, support the family and assist our community from the evil,” the memorandum concluded.

Elsies River police station commander Brig Mark Hartzenburg thanked those taking part in the march for rallying against alleged criminal activities at the house. 

The victim, a minor who cannot be named, was going home after visiting a friend when she was approached by a group of boys aged 14 to 16 who told her to give a parcel to somebody.

An eyewitness confronted the teens about their intentions and went to call the police. But it was too late for the 12-year-old who was allegedly grabbed, forced into the house and raped.

The victim’s mother, who also has two older children, told TimesLIVE the suspects did not attend school and were “wannabe” gangsters. 

“My daughter cannot sleep, she’s disturbed as she has recurring nightmares. She hasn’t been to school since the incident. She’s traumatised, grumpy and restless.”

The victim has been catching up on missed schoolwork at home thanks to assistance provided by the school.

Police spokesperson Capt Frederick van Wyk said the four boys were arrested on rape charges. They appeared in the Bishop Lavis magistrate’s court on Tuesday and were released on bail of R1,000 each. 

The case was postponed for further investigation until November 28.

TimesLIVE