Congregants of a church were left traumatised and now fear returning to pray after two men barged in, stole cellphones and forced some of the women to strip and perform sexual acts.
The men targeted the Zion Church in Khayelitsha in the early hours of Easter Sunday, reports the Weekend Argus.
About 20 mothers and their kids had spent the night at the kerk.
Babalwa Kese, a church member and community leader, said that the victims were vas aan die slaap when they were attacked during load shedding.
Kese was told that the two alleged skurke klopped on the door. One of the women tried to keep the door closed, but she was overpowered and fell.
“They were armed with what was later discovered to be a toy gun and a knife. They broke the rechargeable lamp that was hanging from the ceiling,” she said.
When the light went out, Kese claimed the pair allegedly told the women to take off their clothes.
“They clearly had evil intentions and forced two women to perform oral sex on them. Imagine the humiliation. One woman was elderly.”
They then dragged a jong vrou out of the building, Kese added.
“Her mom ran after them, both women were still naked. The younger woman managed to escape and screamed for help,” Kese said.
Mense later found out the identity of the two ouens, she added.
“We found the cellphones and called the police, two of the church members gave the police their statements. The ladies and the children were severely traumatised.
“This may have been the first time we had such an incident, but we are not going to feel comfortable being in church when we could end up robbed or even worse.
“I feel like I have failed my fellow congregants because I was supposed to keep them safe.
“If I was there, I believe this would not have happened because one of the men knows me very well and he respects me. And that is the reason I think they waited until I left before they could do what they did.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirmed the suspects were in custody.
“This office can confirm that Khayelitsha FCS [Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences] are investigating cases of business robbery and sexual assault.
“We can also confirm that two suspects, aged 20 and 25, were arrested. The suspects are due to make their court appearance in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Monday.”
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