Two female passengers robbed and raped by hitchhiker in KwaZulu-Natal

The Reaction Unit South Africa(RUSA) has reported that two female passengers who were travelling from Verulam to Ndwedwe got robbed and raped by hitchhiker on Saturday morning.

The security company which responded to the crime scene discovered that the motorist offered the lift to two females and one male from Verulam to Ndwedwe, and the male hitchhiker decided to rob the driver who gave him lift along the route.

"At approximately 06:30, a male motorist was transporting two females from Verulam - KZN to Ndwedwe - KZN when he offered a lift to three other individuals along the route. The trio consisted of one female and two females. The hitchhikers were allegedly consuming alcohol at the time. The two female hitchhikers were later dropped off in Mavela, Ndwendwe, while the male requested to be dropped off further along the route.

While travelling, the male hitchhiker allegedly produced a firearm and instructed the driver to turn onto an unpaved road. Upon reaching a dead end, the suspect robbed the driver of an undisclosed amount of cash and a Samsung cellphone. The driver was then instructed to abandon his white Suzuki Dzire and flee the scene. He was not physically injured," said RUSA.

RUSA revealed that the two females which were travelling with the driver before he gave a lift to the hitchhikers got robbed and raped by the male hitchhiker after he chased away the driver of the vehicle with the gun.

“The perpetrator thereafter forced the two female passengers down an embankment toward a nearby river, where he robbed them of their cellphones before raping both victims. The suspect then fled into dense bushes in the area.

"The driver managed to obtain assistance from the community who contacted authorities for assistance. The man was unable to provide the location of his two female passengers.

A joint search operation was conducted by members of Reaction Unit South Africa(RUSA) and the Ndwedwe SAPS in KZN, resulting in the two female victims being located approximately one kilometre from the main road in a bushy area," concluded RUSA.