FEAR has gripped the hearts of Emalahleni residents as a suspected serial rapist is on the loose.
At least nine children, between the ages of seven and 13, have been raped since March 2023. It's alleged that the suspect(s) targets most of their victims while they are playing on the streets or being sent to the shops.
The children are being abducted, assaulted and raped. The suspect(s) will then force them to bath and leave them near a police station after sexually assaulting them.
The latest victim is an eight-year-old who was raped in November. The little girl was walking to the shops with another six-year-old when the suspect who was driving a VW polo stopped them. It's alleged that he took her to a certain house and raped her. He then burnt her clothes and made her walk home naked.
The mother of the victim told Daily Sun her child was bleeding profusely when she came back home.
"She was crying. I don't think I'll ever forget the day this incident happened. It was painful to watch my child in the state she was in. I had to be admitted to hospital because of what happened," she said.
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She said she doesn't want the perpetrator to be sent to jail but die a slow death.
"If he is found, he will go to prison, live a normal life and our children are scarred for life. He must not live. He doesn't deserve to live. He must die," she said
Meanwhile, another family member of a victim who was raped in September told Daily Sun that she is still hurt with what happened to their nine-year-old girl. She said she wants the suspect(s) to be found and pay for his sins.
"I'm hurt with what happened to my granddaughter. It's painful. But what comforts me is the fact that she came back home in one piece and alive. Some children don't make it home, they get killed," she said.
Community activist Vinolia Mashiane said parents are no longer comfortable as they cannot leave their children alone.
"The situation is very bad because now we can't allow our children to be kids and play on the streets. This is a very rough season. We are not comfortable with what is happening in our area. We fear for the safety of our children," she said.
Mashiane said she believes the suspect(s) is from the same community. Last month the community marched to Vosman Police Station to deliver a memorandum of grievances.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said there is a team of detectives who are conducting a thorough docket analysis. He said identity kits of the suspect(s) have been extracted as part of the investigation.
