A serial rape and murder suspect believed to have used Facebook to lure unsuspecting young women from several Eastern Cape towns will appear in the Qumbu Magistrate’s Court today on several charges of murder and rape.
The 28-year-old was arrested by the provincial organised crime unit, Mthatha Crime Intelligence and a provincial Hawks team in his village in Qumbu at the weekend.
His girlfriend, 21, was also arrested after cellphones and clothes belonging to victims were found at her home.
Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said the man had used a fake Facebook profile and picture to lure his victims.
“Once he made contact, he would send them transport money and arrange to meet them in Qumbu,” he said.
“But once there, he would go to meet them pretending to be someone else. He would tell them that he was taking them to the person they came to meet but lure them to a field where he would rape and murder them.”
The victims were stripped of their clothing and strangled with a fishing rope.
Fatyela said the victims were from different East Cape towns including Mthatha, Ntabankulu, East London, Alice and Mount Fletcher.
He said the first incident took place on September 24 and the most recent around October 30.
“He would phone them and then send transport money to them. That is where we started, and also his Facebook page where he used a fake photo and profile,” he added.
Fatyela said the man was detained at the Mthatha Central police station and would appear in the Qumbu Magistrate’s Court on rape and murder charges today.
Police and the Eastern Cape social development warned social network users, especially young women, against meeting potential suitors online.
“People must not agree to go on blind dates with people they just meet on social networks,” said Fatyela.
Provincial social development spokesman Mzukisi Solani praised police for the arrest but also warned people to be circumspect when it came to social networks.
Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre director Lesley-Ann Foster said a massive awareness campaign was needed to sensitise South Africans in general, particularly young women, about social networks.
“This shows how young women use it without understanding the dangers.”
She praised the police for the arrest, saying it showed that they were serious about fighting the scourge of violence against women. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Cops arrest Qumbu man with Facebook link to rapes, murders
The 28-year-old was arrested by the provincial organised crime unit, Mthatha Crime Intelligence and a provincial Hawks team in his village in Qumbu at the weekend.
His girlfriend, 21, was also arrested after cellphones and clothes belonging to victims were found at her home.
Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said the man had used a fake Facebook profile and picture to lure his victims.
“Once he made contact, he would send them transport money and arrange to meet them in Qumbu,” he said.
“But once there, he would go to meet them pretending to be someone else. He would tell them that he was taking them to the person they came to meet but lure them to a field where he would rape and murder them.”
The victims were stripped of their clothing and strangled with a fishing rope.
Fatyela said the victims were from different East Cape towns including Mthatha, Ntabankulu, East London, Alice and Mount Fletcher.
He said the first incident took place on September 24 and the most recent around October 30.
“He would phone them and then send transport money to them. That is where we started, and also his Facebook page where he used a fake photo and profile,” he added.
Fatyela said the man was detained at the Mthatha Central police station and would appear in the Qumbu Magistrate’s Court on rape and murder charges today.
Police and the Eastern Cape social development warned social network users, especially young women, against meeting potential suitors online.
“People must not agree to go on blind dates with people they just meet on social networks,” said Fatyela.
Provincial social development spokesman Mzukisi Solani praised police for the arrest but also warned people to be circumspect when it came to social networks.
Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre director Lesley-Ann Foster said a massive awareness campaign was needed to sensitise South Africans in general, particularly young women, about social networks.
“This shows how young women use it without understanding the dangers.”
She praised the police for the arrest, saying it showed that they were serious about fighting the scourge of violence against women. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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