Byo records four pirate taxi rapes in one week

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
FOUR women have been robbed and raped in Bulawayo in a week’s space after boarding private cars with the latest incident on Tuesday night.

Bulawayo police yesterday said they are investigating four separate cases of rape and robbery where commuters would have boarded pirate taxis or private cars.

Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said on Tuesday a 21-year-old woman was raped four times after she boarded a Blue Toyota Wish at the 6th Avenue illegal pickup point.

He said the victim was raped just two days after police recorded another similar case in Luveve 5 suburb.

“We are investigating a case where a 21-year-old woman was raped while on her way home in Luveve suburb. The victim boarded a Blue Toyota Wish at 6th Avenue illegal pickup with her colleague at about 7:30PM on Tuesday.

Upon reaching Rio Turn in Matshobana her workmate disembarked from the car. Thereafter, the driver jumped into the back seat of the car and tied the victim’s hands before blindfolding her with his red t-shirt and drove away,” he said.

Insp Ncube said the suspect threatened to kill her if she made any noise and drove for at least 10 minutes.

“He removed the blindfold when he was approaching Maunga shops in Mpopoma and covered her mouth. The victim’s phone rang at about 7:44PM and the suspect took away her cellphone and removed the sim card and gave her the sim card while he took away the cellphone.

“He found a secluded place and raped the victim four times before pushing her out of the car. She was assisted by a passerby who accompanied her to report the matter to the nearest police station,” Insp Ncube.

He said cops were concerned with the increase of sexual abuse cases of women after boarding pirate taxis.

“Actually, this is not the first case we have received this week. We have received four cases in a space of one week.

One of the incidents occurred in Emakhandeni while another occurred in Luveve 5 suburb. The suspects are raping their victims and robbing them. Of concern, is that the victims are saying that their abusers look innocent until they are violated and robbed,” said Insp Ncube.

He urged residents to desist from boarding private cars especially at night as they increase the risk of being raped.–@nqotshili