Cop who refused to help rape victim at a police station in South Africa to face disciplinary action
Authorities in Cape Town South Africa say cop who turned away rape victim at the Khayelitsha police station, will face an internal inquiry and possible disciplinary action
Male officer on Monday night allegedly told Zikhona Rhuga to ‘go home, not to bath and return the next day’
Rhuga, 26, had just been assaulted inside a minibus taxi
Rhuga says she was alone in a minibus taxi when the driver raped her
After the assault, he dumped her in an unknown street and drove off
Local resident Nana Samela [right] provided assistance to rape victim who is not in the photo. Samela posting the incident on social media provided the push for authorities to begin the investigation into Zikhona Rhuga’s assault case
A Cape Town police officer who turned away a rape victim at the Khayelitsha police station early in the week, is set to face disciplinary action.
The male officer on Monday night allegedly told Zikhona Rhuga, 26, to go home, not to bath and return the next day when she turned up to report her ordeal immediately after the assault.
“I am happy to hear that there will be action taken against the officer because I felt like I suffered a second rape when he turned me away like that,” Zikhona says.
Rhuga, who asked to be identified, told the Daily Voice she had been raped by a taxi driver while on her way to her boyfriend.
The young woman says she was alone in the minibus taxi when she was attacked by the driver. After the driver raped her, he dumped her in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
A passerby who noticed her distress, offered to take her to the police station. Arriving at the police station, due to social distancing, she was embarrassingly asked to “shout out” her ordeal in front of strangers.
The traumatized victim was offered assistance by a local resident Nana Samela, who says she was left disgusted when the officer told Rhuga she could only be assisted the next day, and warned her not to bath as this could destroy DNA evidence.
“I was prepared to live and let all this go,” Rhuga says. “I was going to try and heal myself because the police failed me.”
But an angry Samela took to social media and says at 4am Tuesday morning, police showed up at her house and took Rhuga to the station to file her complaint.
Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Yolisa Matakata says she has learnt “with horror” of the incident and has called for a disciplinary investigation.
“The police officer in question has been identified as part of the unfolding investigation.
“Not only is it embarrassing to know that a victim of a crime left a police station without being helped. The allegations smack of dereliction of duty on the part of the police.”
Officers at the station told the Daily Voice that the conduct of the cop was not surprising as he often “turned people away without assisting them”.
Rhuga says she is now scared to of taxis: “When I see a taxi my heart starts racing. It is like the driver will come to finish me off.”
The male officer on Monday night allegedly told Zikhona Rhuga, 26, to go home, not to bath and return the next day when she turned up to report her ordeal immediately after the assault.
“I am happy to hear that there will be action taken against the officer because I felt like I suffered a second rape when he turned me away like that,” Zikhona says.
Rhuga, who asked to be identified, told the Daily Voice she had been raped by a taxi driver while on her way to her boyfriend.
The young woman says she was alone in the minibus taxi when she was attacked by the driver. After the driver raped her, he dumped her in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
A passerby who noticed her distress, offered to take her to the police station. Arriving at the police station, due to social distancing, she was embarrassingly asked to “shout out” her ordeal in front of strangers.
The traumatized victim was offered assistance by a local resident Nana Samela, who says she was left disgusted when the officer told Rhuga she could only be assisted the next day, and warned her not to bath as this could destroy DNA evidence.
“I was prepared to live and let all this go,” Rhuga says. “I was going to try and heal myself because the police failed me.”
But an angry Samela took to social media and says at 4am Tuesday morning, police showed up at her house and took Rhuga to the station to file her complaint.
Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Yolisa Matakata says she has learnt “with horror” of the incident and has called for a disciplinary investigation.
“The police officer in question has been identified as part of the unfolding investigation.
“Not only is it embarrassing to know that a victim of a crime left a police station without being helped. The allegations smack of dereliction of duty on the part of the police.”
Officers at the station told the Daily Voice that the conduct of the cop was not surprising as he often “turned people away without assisting them”.
Rhuga says she is now scared to of taxis: “When I see a taxi my heart starts racing. It is like the driver will come to finish me off.”
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