The crying mother of a young woman brutally gang-raped by armed thugs said after nine of them were shot dead by South African police: “My daughter will now get peace from this.”
The 52-year-old mother added: “I will finally be able to sleep and I know my daughter will have peace in her heart because she knows she will never see those children again.”
“It’s very hard to have to live every day with having seen your daughter raped in front of you,” she said.
The traumatized mother of two’s life was turned upside down when the gang that terrorized her neighborhood for a year broke into her home and targeted her daughter.
The violent gang of 11 young men aged between 18 and 22 had been behind a ferocious mini-crime spree in the Durban suburb for more than a year and were wanted for at least five murders.
They used automatic weapons, pistols and machetes to frighten locals and forced three families to leave their homes in Mariannhill, which they took over as their gang headquarters.
But their luck ran out on Wednesday when a team of elite firearms officers was sent to deal with them after they gang-raped a defenseless woman in front of her mother and sister.
Forensic workers examine the scene where suspected criminals were killed during a police raid in Marianhill, near Durban.
Grieving relatives forced to identify bodies of alleged gang members
South African police are currently waging war against gangs waging a deadly battle for territory and control of the drugs, liquor and prostitution market.
The masked and armed gang burst through the kitchen door on March 28 and beat up the 52-year-old mother and her two daughters, aged 16 and 24, in a brazen home robbery.
But then their attention turned to the eldest daughter, who they began to strip naked and then gang rape while the terrified mother and her younger sister had to watch and listen.
Less than a week later, nine members of the gang lay dead in their headquarters, which locals said had been turned into a “slaughterhouse,” where they died during a two-minute shootout with police.
The KZN Provincial Stabilization Team, which had mobilized after receiving a tip-off about where the gang was hiding, delivered swift justice to the ruthless gang.
Angered by the brutal rape that had inflamed tempers in the terrified community, the police team entered under the cover of darkness, but a lookout warned the criminals.
The gang made the mistake of opening fire first and in a devastating response the firearms unit returned a volley of fire that ended the young lives of the 9 desperate people inside.
Two members of the gang are believed to have escaped and the team is in pursuit.
Yesterday, the families of the nine dead gang members held a tearful procession in front of a dozen police vehicles and pathology teams to identify the bloodied bodies of their loved ones.
But the mother of the raped girl praised the police action that will finally bring order to the once peaceful neighborhood, which is now coming together again as a unit.
The mother, who did not want to be identified to protect her daughter, told reporters: “It won’t change what happened, but it will bring closure for my daughter and for all of us as a family.”
“What makes it worse is that they were young kids that I saw growing up in front of me and then they found drugs and guns and then they grew in numbers and became so powerful.”
The crying mother said that last week the gang broke in around midnight while they were sleeping and demanded money and began taking their television and mobile phones.
She told TimesLive: “They wanted more money but I told them I didn’t have it and then they started attacking me and my 16-year-old daughter and pushed us both onto the bed.”
‘While this was happening they were raping my eldest daughter and I could hear her screaming for help but I couldn’t do anything as they were armed and attacking us.
‘I don’t think my daughter will ever stay here with me again after what happened and I also think I will return home soon; maybe I have to sell it.
“My daughter is away, staying with relatives because these guys were still roaming around the area committing more crimes and she is receiving therapy and was afraid they might come back.
“I am staying at a friend’s house far from home and it is very painful to have your daughter raped while you are there and then some criminals force you to separate from her.”
South African police are currently waging war against gangs waging a deadly battle for territory and control of the drugs, liquor and prostitution market.
An elite gun unit shot dead a gang of nine suspected of gang-raping a young girl in front of her mother and other serious crimes in Durban.
The mother made a living by renting out various properties she owned, but they became vacant because people were too afraid of the gang to move there.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said suspects who formed the gang were on their radar for a series of serious and violent crimes in the area.
He said they included murders, rapes, armed robberies, home burglaries and assaults.
Colonel Netshiunda added: “The Provincial Stabilization Team swooped on the gang in the early hours of Wednesday morning and gunfight ensued when they opened fire on us.
‘The suspects have been behind a series of serious and violent crimes, including murder, but then raped this young woman and forced her mother to watch during a house robbery.
“Information was received that the gang was planning an attack and we received intelligence that gave us an address and 9 members of the gang were shot dead and another 2 are being sought.”
Police sources said that at the time police approached the gang, they had just robbed two locals at gunpoint and were inside their headquarters planning the execution of a rival gang boss.
One said: ‘Information reached us that they were preparing a coup and that all 11 would be there and we eliminated 9 of them, but unfortunately two escaped.
“But we are behind them and they will definitely not come back here,” he said.
Community policing forum president Dawood Chirwa said: “This area had become a no-go zone and it is sad because it was just young children who were known and grew up here.”
‘Then they got weapons and brought terror to our community. A scared community can’t do much because you report them and word spreads and these guys come back for you.’
Local councilor Reginald Cloete believes there are more members of the gang and said: “Hopefully a message has been sent and they don’t come back to this community.”
A local businessman, who will not be named, said: “When it got dark, the terror came and you locked the doors and stayed inside hoping the gang wouldn’t come for you.
‘Now people can sleep peacefully because the police have given us the security we so desperately needed.
‘There is no point in arresting people simply because they are given R250 (£10) bail and within 15 minutes they have robbed someone to get the bail money back and it all starts again.
“Bullets are better than bail and hopefully we can rebuild our community,” he said.
Police found guns and a rifle in the home and are searching for two more gang members.
South African police in KZN are said to be waging war on criminals who open fire on them first and so far this year some 37 suspects in KZN province have been shot dead.
Every day in South Africa, 75 murders and 120 rapes occur, mainly between rival gangs in impoverished areas where police patrols rarely venture.
X users showed little sympathy, with one saying: “I feel sorry for the parents.” But those m…..f…kers had to die.” Another said: “Case closed – beautiful work by KZN Police.”