Vuyisile Msila
Johannesburg - Following the gang rape of eight women by zamazamas or illegal miners in Krugersdorp in the West Rand, the communities stood up in protest in an action to exterminate the barbarism linked with the beastly men who violated maidens.
It was a shocking incident which left the nation numb. Many of us still hope the young women are still getting the necessary emotional support for soon after, these horrific accounts of rape were eclipsed by the calls to root out illegal immigrants because many maintain that the zamazamas are mainly illegal immigrants from mainly Lesotho.
The twist this took on Thursday was that several foreign nationals were mistakenly identified as zamazamas. Ninenteen were rescued by police from an irate mob. What has become of our country, when places such as Kagiso have now become the Wild West? And everyday we see pandemonium rise in our townships, much of it spurred by what residents refer to as the absence of service delivery.
The paradox of this latest one though is that we may forget what sparked the unrest – the brutal rape of eight women and the fear it instils in our already frightened communities. One question is reiterated in all this; have the police failed?
Many barbaric atrocities have happened in the recent past, but none as despicable and deplorable as this one. The angry residents in Kagiso have taken the law into their hands, stoning one man suspected of being a zamazama.
There is something wrong in our law if we are to descend into being this wild west. There is something sad about our condition if we are to be this helpless. But some may understand the ire of the communities as the anger of a desperate society.
The Julius Nyerere area has become an area where the community looks for the baddies; this is where the police system has failed. Roads were blocked as people bawled for justice and protection. The hunt for zamazamas is a frantic call for desperate solutions. It is a violent hunt for peace and freedom. Rape culture in society is gnawing communities; perpetrated by the trusted uncle to the most unfamiliar guest.
But again we need to take the blame in certain quarters although highlighting government failures to enforce the law is not far from the mark. Many of us cringe with fear when you hear a parent say with pride that a daughter is doing books for a prophet or a pastor, despite many prophets having been caught with their pants down.
Yet in search of miracles we disbelieve the young girls who cry wolf, because “men of god” cannot be faulted. Our activism against rape should start there; from those uncles we trust to the professionals we revere.
Our children tell us stories every day and we choose which to believe. Communities should stand up as we have seen them do this week. The scourge of rape is destroying our future. As children grow up they tend to gradually believe that rape is normal as parents turn a blind eye in several instances. The spread of the rot shows how close to defencelessness the citizens have become.
The rape statistics and consequences are dire in South Africa already. In a 1998-2000 study, in Gauteng 1 in every 3 women out of the sampled 4,000 had been raped. The South African Police Service estimates that a woman is raped every 36 seconds.
As the zamazama brutal saga comes into the picture, it exacerbates a rather gloomy situation. Rape statistics differ as one moves from province to province, but overall, South Africa is ranked top for violent rapes per capita.
The challenge with rape is that apart from the obvious psychological trauma it is accompanied by other dangers such as HIV and AIDS, for there are several chances that the perpetrators carry dreaded diseases.
Our society has still not dealt adequately with various forms of rape such as marital rape, corrective rape, prison rape and men who have been violated. Society is hush on the victims who are sometimes admonished to keep quiet, or out of misery and pain they themselves decide to be silent.
Few men would embarrass themselves in a society that would laugh at them if they reported being raped by women. And in such places as prisons, many victims suffer in silence.
Several gays and lesbians have died after suffering gang rapes that were supposed to correct their sexuality. The gang raping and murder of Eudy Simelane may still be fresh in the minds of many.
Simelane was an LGBT activist and a soccer player who died a violent death at the hands of violent rapitsts. Rape is a deep sickness that emotionally and spiritually kills the victims long before they die physically.
Only last week, in East London, a young Xhosa initiate, an umkhwetha, was raped by six men while still nursing his wound. Imagine the life ahead for this 15-year-old grade 10 pupil who dreamt of being a man. Rape is a sickness that destroys.
Communities need to uproot the barbarity of rape in all its forms. The women who were gang raped in Krugersdorp all had dreams. When you stand in front of a film crew you dream of being a star and all those dreams are broken by callous rapists and these women will be trying to put together the pieces for the rest of their lives.
The mass rape of these eight women conscientised the society about the brutality of rape. It reminded society of the various West Villages around the country where this is a daily occurrence.
Morality has waned in our communities and the devils are in our midst. Some groups are calling for harsher sentences for rapists and we are tempted to agree.
The society needs real solutions now and we should know that closing the old mines will only solve a percentage of the problem. Beasts prowl outside Krugersdorp in schools, in churches and in ordinary homes. The problem is deeper - deeper than an event in Krugersdorp.
We are a society that bleeds, and we cannot rest when angels’ virginity is destroyed by malcontents who are ready to plunder in barren plains. What lessons will the next generations learn? The villages have become murky and scary, the townships gory and devilish. No one is safe, from infants to nonagenarians, as crime levels rise.
There is no place to hide as we keep on hearing heart-rending stories of prophets who force themselves on maidens.
Unfortunately, political parties often trivialise this, for as events such as these happen in places such as Krugersdorp, they find time to gerrymander, throwing stones at the opposition. Some matters are more serious and bigger than political parties; they need communities who will stand up and protect one another, irrespective of the political corners they belong to. The issues facing us now have become more serious, deadly, and more enormous than the political circus we witness, including the toying with the people’s emotions.
Our concern is one, we do not want to be misled because our communities are under siege and our children fear the streets, for the beasts also threaten their parents.
Msila works at Unisa. He writes in his personal capacity.