Rhodes Rapes: DA to ask for investigation into SAPS in Grahamstown 

20 April 2016

The DA will today submit parliamentary questions on the resourcing and capacity of the Grahamstown SAPS station in order to assess the ability of the police in the town to address claims of sexual assault. 

I will also be writing to Rhodes University Management to get a full briefing on what steps are being taken to ensure the safety for students and whether they have taken the necessary steps - together with the local SAPS to assist the students. 

This follows protests that have erupted at Rhodes University after a list with the names of 11 alleged sex offenders was posted on social media. According to reports, a group of students marched to several residences looking for the alleged offenders.

The DA upholds the principle of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law, following a police investigation that needs to be conducted thoroughly. This means that the university must collaborate diligently with local law enforcement and collectively they must to ensure that campus is a safe space for all. 

The SAPS can ill-afford to dither in its pursuit of the full truth in this regard and to ensure that justice is sought for all victims of sexual assault.

To this end the DA will be submitting parliamentary questions to get clarity on the following: 

Whether the police has taken steps to assist university and received complaints;

Personnel and vehicle shortages at the Grahamstown SAPS station;

The quality of counseling and support services at the station;

The amount of station officers trained in the Domestic Violence Act;

Whether investigations into the rape allegations commenced in accordance with due process and the status of these investigations;

Whether the accusers received counselling;

How pervasive this problem on our university campuses is, given that sexual assault is on the rise at other tertiary institutions, most notably at UCT and VUT.

Between April 2014 and March 2015, 73 cases of rape were reported in Grahamstown. Research has shown that, depending on the locality, as few as one in nine rapes are reported, partly due to a lack of faith in the police to attain convictions. This number could therefore be much higher. 

This breakdown of trust in our police service is a travesty that must be laid at the door of the Police Minister, who is too preoccupied with political machinations instead of capacitating the SAPS with the requisite training and resources to fight the scourge of violent crime properly in South Africa.

Appreciating the seriousness of these sexual assaults on campuses and across the country, The Minister of Police, Mr Nkosinathi Nhleko, and Police Commissioner, Mr Khomotso Phahlane, must diligently apply themselves to mitigating the current state of affairs if we are to begin making inroads into this problem that affects many South Africans on a daily basis.

National government and the SAPS are failing in the fight against crime. But we do not need to accept crime as an inescapable reality in South Africa. A DA government can and will bring an improved police service with competent management who have the right priorities to ensure well-resourced, adequately staffed, fully equipped, proficiently trained police officers at station level to tackle and reduce crime that injures the dignity of all South Africans. 

Issued by Zakhele Mbhele MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, 20 April 2016