Three people who are victims of the Zanzou Nightclub’s alleged forced rape have laid formal charges at the police station.
This comes after the graphic videos went viral on the social media platform X. The videos show bouncers alleged to be from Zanzou Nightclub, in Hatfield, Pretoria, assaulting and performing acts of torture and sexually assaulting patrons who allegedly failed to pay their bills.
Family violence unit investigating
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Investigations (FCS) unit is in charge of looking into offences involving sexual activity.
“The SAPS confirmed that just three victims, aged 20, 21, and 22, showed up at the Brooklyn police station on Monday night after they called for victims to come forward. The SAPS is primarily looking into kidnapping, crimen injuria, assault, forced rape, and intimidation charges,” said Mathe.
Mathe also revealed that the investigation of the nightclub incident in Pretoria has been transferred to the SAPS FCS section.
She added that the victims are a group of five friends who were subjected to the abuse.
“Police are confident that the other two victims will be traced and their statements will also be included in the docket,” she said.
Incident happened in 2023
“The victims allege that the incident happened in January 2023. A dispute arose between the five friends, bouncers and manager of the nightclub.”
The victims told the police that the bouncers and manager allegedly forced the five victims into a storeroom. There they began assaulting them. They instructed them to insert alcohol bottles into their private parts and forced them to perform sexual acts on themselves.
“Police are calling on a man who claims to be a former bouncer of the nightclub who goes by the name of Pablo on social media to also come forward to assist police investigations. Pablo has made numerous allegations and police are of the view that he would be instrumental in assisting police to solve this case.”
The nightclub, meanwhile, issued a statement on Monday. It claimed to be aware of a video showing security personnel responding to phone theft occurrences with excessive and brutal force.
Nightclub says it dismissed perpetrators
“At the time when management became aware of these practices, an immediate investigation was conducted. It resulted in the immediate halting of such as well as the dismissal of security personnel responsible,” reads part of the statement.
“In line with our commitment to ensuring a safe and secure environment, we have since outsourced our security services to a fully registered and compliant company that operates strictly in accordance with South African laws and legislation.”
The nightclub further said the management was exploring legal options around the conduct of the former security employee responsible for the practices documented in the videos.
