Residents burn down shack of suspected child rapist

THE shack of a 28-year-old security guard was burnt down by angry residents of Town Two, Khayelitsha, yesterday following allegations of child rape.

Charred items and a burnt single bed were all that remained of his possessions. The man was rescued by police as residents pounded him with planks and rods.

However, police spokesman Captain FC Van Wyk could not confirm any arrests in the matter.

This incident comes two weeks after the case against two men accused of the rape and murder of 4-yearold Iyapha Yamile, from the same area, was withdrawn due to inconclusive evidence. Iyapha’s body was found stuffed in a garbage bag not too far from the homes of six girls the man is accused of raping.

There have been over 20 child murders in the province since the start of the year – some of the children were raped and murdered by people close to them.

The distraught 30-year-old mother of one of the victims who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, told Weekend Argus she was not hopeful the alleged rapist would be brought to justice.

However, she was “happy that he did not kill any of the girls like all these children who have been killed recently”.

“The men who were accused of raping and killing Iyapha are back here, they walk among us. That on its own makes me fear that he too may be released because though tests proved that there was penetration, they said there was no traces of semen,” she explained.

The six girls, aged between 9 and 11, confessed to their parents on Thursday that the man had paid them R200 to keep quiet.

“They said he would make them watch pornographic movies before making them touch his private parts and him touching theirs,” said the mother of a 10-year-old alleged victim.

None of the girls said the suspect had sexual intercourse with them.

The woman said she and the other mothers suspected this has been going on for over a year.

“Last year my sister noticed that these children were always playing around this man’s shack and out of concern confronted him and told him to mingle with people his own age.

“We didn’t think much of it at the time,” said the tearful woman.

asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za

PICTURE: BHEKI RADEBE Angry residents from Town Two, Khayelitsha, burnt a shack belonging to a man they suspect of raping children.