Times Of Swaziland: ALLEGED SERIAL RAPIST LURES JOB SEEKERS ON FACEBOOK

ALLEGED SERIAL RAPIST LURES JOB SEEKERS ON FACEBOOK
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Stanley Khumalo on 06/01/2023 08:46:00


MANZINI – The high unemployment rate in the kingdom has resulted in some women
falling prey to an alleged serial rapist, who seeks them out through social
media.
As overall unemployment in Eswatini is recorded at 33.3 per cent, while youth
unemployment is said to be at 58.2 per cent and woman unemployment rate at 33.9
per cent of the active labour force, the suspect promised the women jobs. He
duped the women into believing that he had found employment for them. According
to sources, his modus operandi was to seek out women who were searching for jobs
on various Facebook pages. He was said to sweet-talk and promise to assist them
in getting jobs.
Locations
His known territories for now, according to sources, are: Bhekinkhosi, Luve,
Mliba and Manzini. These locations are in the east central part of the kingdom.
According to sources, *Escobar would meet the women at Bhekinkhosi, which is
under Ekukhanyeni Constituency. Upon meeting them, he would take them to a
nearby forest where he allegedly sexually violated them. The suspect, aged 30,
was arrested by Manzini police yesterday. This was after complaints had been
reported about him at two police stations - Mliba and Manzini.  Four women are
said to have so far filed complaints with the police and it is expected that the
numbers may rise as investigations proceed.
Money
At Mliba, three women are said to have reported cases, while one was filed at
Manzini Police Station. The youngest of the women is 17 years old. According to
sources, Escobar flaunted money in his Facebook account and projected himself as
someone who was in and out of the country.
It was gathered that the women who had interacted with him, assuming that he was
a good Samaritan, believed that he would assist them in getting jobs. Sources
further told this publication that after a number of complaints were lodged
against him at Mliba Police Station, Escobar relocated to Ngwane Park, Manzini.
He was arrested at Ngwane Park, where he resided with a relative.
The sexual violation cases purported to have been committed by Escobar happened
at a time when the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) Second Quarter Report
stated that 148 rape cases had been reported in just three months. The REPS
reported that among serious crimes, which were a cause for concern, sexual and
gender-based violence (GBV) cases were a challenge. Chief Police Information and
Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed that a
suspect aged 30 was arrested for allegedly raping four women.
Cases
She said there were cases which were being investigated by Mliba police and
another by Manzini police. Vilakati also confirmed that the suspect was
apprehended while at Ngwane Park, following collaboration by the two police
stations. “We appeal to others who may have been exposed to the criminal
activities of the suspect to open their cases at the nearest police station, so
that we can investigate them further,” Vilakati said. It is worth noting that
the allegations levelled against Escobar are similar to those reported by this
publication in October 2021, wherein a man of Dlangeni took advantage of
desperate female Facebook users and allegedly raped them. Mzwandile Dlamini (27)
was arrested at Ngculwini for allegedly luring women who had posted on various
Facebook groups that they were seeking employment. He was said to have disguised
his intentions of sexually violating them under the pretext of having secured
employment for them.
Contacts
This, it was said, he did by first sourcing his targets’ contacts from the
advertisements they had posted on the social media groups with the hope that
prospective employers would use when contacting them. Thereafter, it was
gathered that he would contact the women and tell them to go to Ngculwini, where
he resided. According to sources, Dlamini’s modus operandi was pretending that
he was a single parent raising an infant and as such, he urgently needed a
domestic assistant.
Out of desperation, his targets fell for his tricks and travelled to Ngculwini.
One of the survivors travelled to Ngculwini to meet her prospective employer but
upon arrival, she noted that the male was younger than what she had been made to
believe. It was gathered that she walked with him but along the way, Dlamini
started telling her that she was unlikely to be employed but instead she should
be his girlfriend. The job seeker panicked and communicated this with a
relative. As this was happening, Dlamini grabbed her phone. She was said to have
fled and sought refuge in a nearby homestead. However, along the way, as she
ran, she dropped her bags, which Dlamini took and ran away with.
In a different incident, Dlamini was said to have posed as a businessman in need
of someone to work in his shop. It was gathered that some women fell for his
trick. Dlamini would then tell them that he had been sent by his employer to
direct them to a residence where they would meet him before resuming their
duties. While walking to the unknown destination, it was established that
Dlamini would lead them towards a place with dense vegetation. Thereafter, he
would instill fear in the women with a variety of stories. Seeing that they were
gullible and that they were vulnerable, he was said to have advised the women to
follow his instruction in order for them to be saved from what was about to
befall them.
Raped
One woman, who was said to have also fallen for Dlamini’s trickery, was
allegedly raped by him in several instances, as she had arrived at Ngculwini
with no money to return home. It was said the woman had resided with him at his
place of abode, until he decided to tell her to pack her things and leave. On
the day he chucked her out, it was gathered that another woman arrived, who was
also under the impression that she would be employed.
According to sources, while residing with some of the women, Dlamini was said to
have ordered them to request financial assistance from their next of kin, which
he used for his personal gain. According to impeccable sources, police were
investigating the matter, as there were suspicions that there were more women
who had fallen for Dlamini’s trickery; however, for now, it was said only
three women had reported their ordeal to the police.
* Not real name pending court appearance