Woman 'ruined' after police rape
2009-11-11 08:00
A young mother struggles to hold back the tears as she tells of
allegedly being raped by a policeman while in custody. (Craig Nieuwenhuizen,
Beeld)
Hilda Fourie
Pretoria - A 29-year-old woman says her life is ruined after she was
allegedly raped by a policeman while being detained at Rustenburg police
station.
'I'm not human anymore. There is just nothing left of me," said the woman, who prefers to remain anonymous.
"I don't have a life anymore. I've lost everything. My life is ruined."
The woman, who has an 18-month-old son, is the second reported case of an alleged rape by members of the police in the last two weeks.
Detained
She was arrested on September 29 after her former fiancé had apparently laid a charge of theft against her.
She had been detained in the holding cells. When she asked to go to the bathroom that night, she was escorted by a policeman. Once there, he allegedly struck her across the back with a thick rubber pipe and then raped her.
The next day, the charge of theft against her was withdrawn.
A few weeks later, on October 25, two uniformed police officers allegedly raped 29-year-old Martie Olivier, a mother of three young children, in Kempton Park.
Olivier's nightmare began when her husband, Sarel, turned into the driveway of a house and then reversed to make a U-turn, according to the couple.
A marked police van stopped in front of the couple's car. Mr Olivier was pulled from his car and thrown into the police van.
One policeman got into the driver's seat of the couple's vehicle, with Mrs Olivier still inside.
When they arrived at the Kempton Park police station, Mrs Olivier told her husband that she had been raped.
ICD investigating
Delia de Vries, of law firm De Meyer & De Vries in Johannesburg, is representing both women.
Moses Dlamini, national spokesperson for the Independent Complaints Directorate, said they find these two incidents extremely disturbing, and are conducting an investigation.
No arrest has been made in connection with Olivier's case yet, while four policemen from the Rustenburg police station were arrested on Friday in connection with the rape of the other woman.
The four arrested policemen - an inspector, a constable and two student constables - have since been released and are to appear in court again soon. They have not been suspended.
One of them allegedly raped her while the others were aware of what was going on, but did nothing to help her.
An identification parade will take place on Wednesday.
"The police are supposed to protect people," said Dlamini. "You don't expect members of the police force to rape people in holding cells. No person should experience misfortune while in police custody."
'I'm not human anymore. There is just nothing left of me," said the woman, who prefers to remain anonymous.
"I don't have a life anymore. I've lost everything. My life is ruined."
The woman, who has an 18-month-old son, is the second reported case of an alleged rape by members of the police in the last two weeks.
Detained
She was arrested on September 29 after her former fiancé had apparently laid a charge of theft against her.
She had been detained in the holding cells. When she asked to go to the bathroom that night, she was escorted by a policeman. Once there, he allegedly struck her across the back with a thick rubber pipe and then raped her.
The next day, the charge of theft against her was withdrawn.
A few weeks later, on October 25, two uniformed police officers allegedly raped 29-year-old Martie Olivier, a mother of three young children, in Kempton Park.
Olivier's nightmare began when her husband, Sarel, turned into the driveway of a house and then reversed to make a U-turn, according to the couple.
A marked police van stopped in front of the couple's car. Mr Olivier was pulled from his car and thrown into the police van.
One policeman got into the driver's seat of the couple's vehicle, with Mrs Olivier still inside.
When they arrived at the Kempton Park police station, Mrs Olivier told her husband that she had been raped.
ICD investigating
Delia de Vries, of law firm De Meyer & De Vries in Johannesburg, is representing both women.
Moses Dlamini, national spokesperson for the Independent Complaints Directorate, said they find these two incidents extremely disturbing, and are conducting an investigation.
No arrest has been made in connection with Olivier's case yet, while four policemen from the Rustenburg police station were arrested on Friday in connection with the rape of the other woman.
The four arrested policemen - an inspector, a constable and two student constables - have since been released and are to appear in court again soon. They have not been suspended.
One of them allegedly raped her while the others were aware of what was going on, but did nothing to help her.
An identification parade will take place on Wednesday.
"The police are supposed to protect people," said Dlamini. "You don't expect members of the police force to rape people in holding cells. No person should experience misfortune while in police custody."
