Times Of Swaziland: SWAGAA WARNS: SEXUAL PREDATOR  TARGETING TEENS ON THE LOOSE

SWAGAA WARNS: SEXUAL PREDATOR  TARGETING TEENS ON THE LOOSE
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Stanley Khumalo on 02/09/2022 08:46:00


MANZINI – There is a sexual predator on the loose that is indecently violating
male and female teenagers, says Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA).
The man is alleged to have sexually violated four teenagers in the Manzini and
Hhohho regions in the past month. He is said to have offered them transport and
along the journey, extended to them an offer of consumables which are supposedly
spiked. It is said the four teenagers were sexually violated in the past month
at varying instances. One of the survivors of his exploits is said to be a male,
whom he raped after drugging him.
According to information gathered by this publication, the targeted minors are
school-going and they were all raped and dumped days later by the culprit, who
is yet unknown.
Disoriented
The survivors are said to have been disoriented when they awakened from where
they were dumped. It has been reported that they were all clueless of what had
befallen them; but reported a discomfort arising from the sexual violation. The
cases have been reported to SWAGAA and were confirmed by the Communications and
Advocacy Officer of the organisation, Sakhile Dlamini. She said they had
received the reports in the past month and wanted to caution the public and
parents of the developments. Dlamini said they were extending a warning to
teenagers and the public in general to avoid any food being offered by a
stranger as it could be laced with drugs. She also warned them about accepting
transport from a stranger as the man said to be sexually violating teenagers
pretended to be a good Samaritan, assisting with transport yet he had ulterior
motives.
Dlamini said: “We want to also extend a warning to parents to be vigilant and
not assume that when their children return to their compounds days later, they
were out socialising.” She pleaded with guardians to listen to their minors
and establish what was going on in their lives so that they could report any
sexual violation to the police which could result in the apprehension of the
suspects. Dlamini said the cases had been reported to the police and they were
working with them in dealing with the matters. Meanwhile, the office of the
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer said they had rape cases
reported, which were under investigation. It is worth noting that on May 29,
2021, the Eswatini News reported that greed rooted in the love for money and
social status was to blame for the spate of ritual killings targeting children.
This was the observation of churches and traditionalists amid growing incidents
in which children went missing and later discovered dead in different parts of
the country.
Psychopath
At worst, some people believe this is the work of an elaborate psychopath
prowling the countryside. The issue also formed an agenda of a high level Annual
General Meeting by the Council of Swaziland Churches, where a resolution was
taken to use all available avenues to promote the sanctity of life and to
condemn the killings. The concern came amid the death of seven-year-old Semusa
Tenhlanhla Fakudze, whose body was found dumped in an unused house in Simunye.
Many sympathetic emaSwati hushed in disgust at the discovery, after days of
nursing hopes that Semusa would be discovered alive. Before that, 19-month-old
Owenkosi Simelane went missing and was subsequently found dead in a nearby field
at Siyeni, in Manzini, after she had gone missing for a few days. On May 10, a
teenage girl who had been reported missing was found dead a few days later. Her
lifeless body was found at a popular bus stop known as Ematjeni Lamnyama along
the Pigg’s Peak-Motshane Road, known as King Mswati II Highway. All these
incidents added to the disappearance of two girls at Nyanyali who went missing
while walking in-between two homes.