A 14-year-old girl in Mthatha was allegedly raped shortly after being kidnapped from her home and forced to knock on a neighbour’s door, after which her alleged kidnapper shot dead the occupant. The Grade 9 pupil was said to be at home with two other teenagers when, at about 1am on Monday, a gunman kicked open the door and demanded the girl come with him, allegedly saying if she refused he would kill everyone in the house. She complied and was forced to knock on the neighbour’s door.
When the neighbour did not respond, the gunman allegedly kicked the door open, shot the occupant and made off with the girl, the neighbour’s laptop and his phone. The girl was allegedly raped in a nearby bushy area soon after. On Wednesday, police confirmed that two 35-year-old men linked to the incident were fatally shot by the National Intervention Unit on Monday, but the girl’s mother said the family still lived in fear.
Police identified the two dead men as Nyaniso Mbhalo and Melikhaya Mbulawa. “On January 19, at about 2pm, members of the National Intervention Unit received information pertaining to the murder, house robbery, kidnapping and rape,” police spokesperson Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said. “The information led the police to a homestead.
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The door was closed, and they knocked and identified themselves as police. “The suspects opened and shot at the police, and the police fired back. “Two suspects, both 35, were fatally wounded.
Police recovered two unlicensed firearms (pistols), one with an erased serial number. “The Independent Police Investigative Unit was informed for further investigation.”
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