National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has extended a public apology to the Krugersdorp rape victims.
This after the victims’ personal information was widely shared, including on social media platforms in April.
The victims were a group of eight women who were raped by a crowd of men believed to be illegal miners at a disused mine dump in West Village in July 2022.
The women’s information included their names and surnames, ages and physical addresses.
Previously, chairperson of the Information Regulator Pansy Tlakula said apart from publishing an apology “prominently in all major national weekly newspapers and social media platforms”, the police have also been ordered to take action against the officers responsible for the release of the private information.
On Wednesday night, Masemola issued the apology, stressing that the SA Police Service (SAPS) is prioritising crimes against women.
“On behalf of the SAPS, I apologise unreservedly to the victims in particular, and their families,” said Masemola.
“Crimes against women and children remain a priority for members of the SAPS and, in the past financial year, 386 life sentences were handed down to perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide-related crimes. During the same period, 17 481 suspects were arrested for such crimes.”
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Masemola had ordered an internal investigation into the matter.
“The investigation was conducted and concluded. The final report found that indeed, the personal information of victims was released inappropriately, but no ill-intent was uncovered,” said Mathe.
“This, however, still does not justify the sharing of such information. The information which was shared on various internal WhatsApp platforms of the SAPS sought to only mobilise all the necessary role players and resources in a bid to apprehend those responsible for this heinous crime.”
During the process of tracing the suspects, Mathe said the SAPS management in Gauteng, the relevant district, stations and units were alerted to the crime and requested to mobilise resources to trace the suspects.
“WhatsApp messages were used to communicate due to the urgency of tracing the suspects,” she said.
“Unfortunately, personal information of the above-mentioned victims were disclosed in WhatsApp messages on SAPS WhatsApp groups, which found its way to social media.
“The SAPS regrets the disclosure of such personal information and apologises to the victims of the dreadful crimes for the information breach and the hardship caused as a result.”
She said the SAPS management continues to issue directives and conducts internal awareness campaigns within the SAPS in a bid to avoid a repeat of such information breaches.
“The management of the SAPS assures all people in South Africa of its commitment to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013,” said Mathe.
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