A man who worked as a potter at a psychiatric medical facility in Scottsburg, a coastal resort town located along the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, is on the run.
This after he allegedly raped a 37-year-old psychiatric patient at the medical institution.
Members of the Port Shepstone family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit (FCS) are calling on members of the community to help locate the suspect.
It is alleged that Xolani Milton Mbambo from uMthwalume, a small seaside village about 87km south of Durban, raped the victim in April 2021.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said Mbambo has been in hiding since he heard that officers were looking for him.
“Reports indicate that Mbambo was taking the victim to an x-ray when he allegedly took her to another building’s basement and raped her,” Gwala said.
“A rape case was opened at Scottburgh police station and the docket was duly transferred to Port Shepstone FCS for further investigation.”
The suspect’s whereabouts are not known and a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Port Shepstone magistrate’s court.
Meanwhile, a male nurse who worked at Taylor Bequest Hospital in Matatiele in Eastern Cape is still in jail for raping a 28-year-old woman.
Earlier in October, Sibusiso Dywili appeared in court and the matter was postponed for bail application.
It is alleged that the 33-year-old nurse raped the woman inside a toilet of a ward.
Dywili allegedly called the patient to the bathroom under the pretext that he wanted to help her take a bath. Instead, he allegedly locked the door and raped the woman.
He was later suspended from his duties.
Eastern Cape department of health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth expressed shock after the news about the rape emerged.
Meth said health facilities must be safe spaces for women and all patients, adding that her department takes gender-based-violence cases seriously and will conduct its own probe.
