The anguish of the mother of a 24-year-old girl who was gang-raped by a criminal syndicate who terrorised the neighbourhood was soothed after hearing that nine members were killed during a gun battle in Desai, Mariannhill, outside Durban.
The shoot-out occurred on Wednesday as police moved in on suspects who have wreaked havoc in the community for years and had taken over three houses in the area, forcing homeowners to move.
Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said the suspects were on their radar for a number of serious and violent crimes in the area.
Police said the youngest suspect was 18 and the oldest 22.
The mother, who asked not to be named, said even though the death of the alleged suspects won’t change what happened, it has brought closure to their family.
“At least I’ll be able to sleep at night. I think my daughter will have peace in her heart because she won’t see them. These are very young boys, they grew up right before my eyes, and it’s just that they are powerful because they have firearms.”
The mother said the incident took place last month around midnight when they were asleep.
She said they were woken by a noise in the kitchen, and an armed gang of about six entered the house and demanded money.
She said after they took the money and some items including TVs, phones, and sneakers, they started assaulting them, demanding more money.
She said her younger daughter, 16, was with her, while the 24-year-old was in another room.
“They took my 16-year-old daughter and told me to go cover myself with blankets on the bed. I quickly grabbed her and they pushed us both to the bed while they were assaulting me. While that was happening, another group was raping my older daughter in another room and I could hear her screaming for help. I couldn’t do anything because they were armed and they kept assaulting us,” said the mother.
She said after the incident, she decided to take her daughters away to relatives for their safety as the suspects were still roaming the area, committing more crimes.
She said her older daughter is residing with relatives and is undergoing counselling.
The mother said she herself now stays at a neighbour's house which is a distance away from her home, as she fears some suspects [still on the run] might return.
“I don’t think my daughter will ever come back to stay here after what happened to her. I also don’t think I’ll be coming back to my house any time soon. I’m so confused, I don’t even know if I should sell the house. It’s so painful to have your child raped while you’re there and now I’m forced to be separated from them because of these criminals,” said the woman, who was overcome with emotion.
The mother also owns a few rental properties which have been left unoccupied as people are afraid to live there.
According to a police source, there are more than 10 charges against the alleged criminals, including murder, rape, armed robberies, house robberies theft and assault.
A police source at the scene said hours before the shooting, the suspects had robbed two people in two separate incidents less than 200m apart.
“They robbed a guy of his phone and wallet, and after that, they walked down the street and robbed another guy at gunpoint. The two victims didn’t want to open cases when told to do so. The problem is that people are so scared of these boys and they don’t want to be on their wrong side. They are so brutal and that’s why people are not reporting cases.
“They started about two years back and they left for Chatsworth where they continued with their criminal activities. After they were chased away from that side, they came back about a year ago and continued where they left off. However, they are worse now,” said a police source.
A source said several houses next to the criminals' den have been vacant after people decided to leave the area in fear for their lives.
The suspects are also allegedly linked to the murder of five people who were gunned down in the area in February 2023.
Community police forum chairperson Dawood Chirwa confirmed the houses were left vacant due to criminal activities.
“This area had become a no-go zone and it’s sad because these were just young kids that were being a terror to our communities. A scared community can’t do much because you report these cases and word goes around and these boys attack you thereafter,” said Chirwa.
Local ward councillor Reginald Cloete believes there are more members of the group.
“Unfortunately you can’t have awareness in this area because everyone is scared to talk. The people are living in fear as the criminals are known to them and some of them are even born in this area. This makes everything hard as you can’t even get information from the community,” said Cloete.
Community members in the area also spoke about the reign of terror by the group and said they would sleep peacefully and be able to walk in the streets after dark.
“When you see them walking on the street, you have no choice but to change direction. They didn't have shame whether you were old or young, when they wanted something from you, they would take it.
“The fact that they were armed made them untouchable. They would even do break-ins in broad daylight and take whatever they wanted. If I had a choice, I would have left this area a long time ago,” said one of the residents.
The families of the suspects who came to the scene to identify the bodies were overcome with emotion and refused to speak to the media.
Netshiunda said a rifle was found inside the house in which the nine suspects were shot. He said three firearms have so far been found in the suspects’ possession and a search is ongoing.
Netshiunda said a manhunt for two outstanding suspects is under way.
“Though the police were ambushed when they erroneously knocked at the wrong house, the tactically astute officers managed to retaliate and neutralise the threat with none of them suffering any injuries,” said Netshiunda.
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