A 24-year-old university student has broken her silence about the terrifying ordeal she says began when she was kidnapped while jogging in Norkem Park, Kempton Park, and taken to a secluded field, where she was raped.
But what makes her story even more horrifying is that, weeks later, she says the same attackers found their way to her home and tried to hurt her.
On Tuesday July 14, she says she was jogging along the road she regularly exercised on when three men attacked her.
She says they forced her into a black Volkswagen Polo with tinted windows and drove her to an isolated field.
“One of them raped me, while the other held me down and the last one was in the driver’s seat. I bit the one holding me hard and kicked the other one. He was hurt. That’s how I was able to get away,” she said.
The second-year university student says she managed to escape and run home before her family took her to Norkem police station, where she opened a rape case.
She was subsequently taken to Tembisa Hospital for treatment and a rape examination.
She says she told investigators that she had bitten one of her attackers and asked that an oral swab be conducted but the procedure was not done.
That was the last time she heard from the detective handling her case.
Then came the second attack.
On Monday, 17 August, while she was home alone, she says, two masked men forced their way into her house.
“They jammed the gate motor, which forced me to go outside and investigate why it wasn’t responding to the remote. When I saw one of them, they chased me into the house and that’s how they got in.
“They beat me, stabbed me, stripped me naked, strangled me with a belt and cut me. It was the same perpetrators from the first attack. They thought I had died because when I woke up, they were gone.”
Nothing was stolen from her home – not her television, phones or laptops.
She was taken to hospital and spent eight days in ICU.
The question that continues to haunt her is how the attackers allegedly found her home after the first attack.
“The only people who knew about what happened to me were the police officers and the people at the hospital that knew my address.”
She says she provided investigators with information that could potentially have helped identify one of the suspects, including the fact that she had bitten one of the attackers.
She also told investigators that the men appeared to be foreign nationals and that their Zulu had an accent.
Today, her body carries severe scars, while the psychological wounds remain.
“My mental health is struggling but I am taking it one day at a time.”
And perhaps the most heartbreaking part of her testimony is what she says the experience has taught her about being a woman in South Africa.
“We have never been protected; we are not protected and we will never be protected. Survival has become a burden.”
Nine women have been found dead across Ekurhuleni in the past two months. Police have not declared that one serial killer is responsible.
Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe confirmed that police are aware of both cases – the rape and attempted murder – and that no arrests had been made at the time of the report.
“We are working around the clock to identify and apprehend those responsible for the attacks and killings of women in the area. Our investigators are not resting. We are pursuing every available lead, examining multiple theories and following up on a number of possible suspects.
“While we cannot disclose operational details that could compromise the investigation, I can assure the public that significant resources and expertise have been brought into these investigations.”
Mathe urged the public to remain vigilant and, importantly, to share any information that may assist the police through the appropriate channels.
“We believe we are making progress. It is only a matter of time before those responsible are brought before the courts to face the full might of the law,” she said.
- A 24-year-old second-year university student was kidnapped and raped by three men while jogging in Norkem Park, Kempton Park on July 14, and she escaped by biting and kicking one of the attackers.
- After reporting the case to the police and receiving treatment at Tembisa Hospital, the same attackers broke into her home on August 17, assaulted her violently, and left her for dead.
- The attackers gained access to her home by jamming the gate motor, and nothing was stolen during the second attack; she spent eight days in ICU with severe physical injuries.
- She provided police with important information including that the men appeared to be foreign nationals with accented Zulu, but no oral swab was taken after the first attack and no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.
- Police confirmed they are investigating both attacks and ongoing killings of women in the area, urging the public to share information, and stated significant resources are being dedicated to apprehending the suspects.
