Girl missing, 5 houses torched
Two more houses have been torched in Rustenburg, following the disappearance of a teenage girl, North West police said yesterday.
Rustenburg police spokesperson Captain Elsabe Augoustides said the houses were set alight on Wednesday night, bringing to five the number of houses torched since Tuesday night.
“We are appealing for calm, there are criminal cases being investigated that could lead to prosecution, arson is a serious charge,” Augoustides said. “A man was arrested on Wednesday night for possession of a petrol bomb.”
Irate residents of East End, in Rustenburg, took the law into their own hands on Tuesday night, burning down houses they alleged Nigerian nationals operate brothels from. Three house were torched on Tuesday.
This was after Gomolemo Karabo Haraba, 14, went missing on her way home from school on November 3. She is a Grade 8 pupil at Rustenburg Technical High School.
“The police request anyone with information that may lead to successful tracing of Gomolemo to contact the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Ernest Modise on 060-967-3932 or 073-189-9343,” Augoustides said.
She said firefighters were threatened on Wednesday night when they were called to extinguish the fires.
“The community threatened to burn the fire engine if they extinguish the fire. They returned without fighting the fire.”
Stephen Haraba, Gomolemo’s uncle and family spokesperson, said on Tuesday that a man, when confronted by the community, made a few cellphone calls and told the community he was going to Rustenburg Noord to pick up Gomolemo.
“We waited for three hours, when he returned he had another girl, not Gomolemo,” he said.
“It is difficult to trace a person, an animal is kept outside and people can see it, a person is too difficult because you keep them inside a house. We are appealing for the safe return of our child.”
He said Gomolemo was a quiet child who would never leave without telling where she was going. “The family is worried, we do not know whether she is safe, what is she eating … It is difficult for the family.”
The community suspected she was kidnapped. “These guys know where she is,” said community member Floyd Makaota.
Makaota said the community would not rest until Gomolemo was found.
Another community member, Simphiwe Nkosi, said if it meant they had to go house to house searching for her, that would be done. – ANA