SA teen flees gang-rape HELL – but dies after clinic ‘turns her away’
Zenizole Vena was failed on an industrial scale. After surviving a harrowing gang-rape ordeal, her pleas for help fell on deaf ears.
Cry, the beloved country. The tragic tale of Zenizole Vena is turning stomachs nationwide. The girl, aged just 15, is believed to have escaped after being subjected to gang-rape by her captors. However, during her desperate struggle to find help, the teen succumbed to her injuries.
Who is Zenizole Vena?
Zenizole Vena lived in Motherwell, Eastern Cape. The details of her ordeal are still yet to fully emerge. However, the sheer horror she experienced was inexplicably topped by the incompetence she faced afterwards. It’s understood she was TURNED AWAY after arriving at a local clinic.
Instead, she was told to report her harrowing gang-rape at a nearby police station – where she ended up dying.
“Zenizole Vena, 15 was allegedly held hostage and gang-raped, but managed to escape the horrific ordeal. It’s understood she went to a clinic in Motherwell but was rejected, and told to go to a police station. Zenizole died inside the police station. No one has been arrested.” | Women4Change
RIP Zeinzole Vena: Death of gang-rape victim incenses locals
Had clinic staff reacted in a more urgent and thoughtful manner, it’s quite possible that Zenizole Vena would still be alive now. Heads are expected to roll for this gross oversight, and political figures have been left apoplectic upon hearing about this case.
Nqaba Bhanga is the Provincial Leader for the DA in the Eastern Cape. Her fury speaks on behalf of a heart-broken community. The lack of help this young girl received is beyond a travesty, and Bhanga isn’t afraid to call it as she sees it.
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Gang-rape case failures ‘are atrocious’
The veteran politician turned her anger towards the government, and its perceived failure to keep South African women safe. According to Bhanga, Police Minister Bheki Cele ‘is doing nothing’ to prevent GBV cases – and she has vowed to take this matter further.
“How can a child, a survivor of such atrocious abuse, be left to die on her own in the waiting room of a police station, with no one there to help her? In this girl’s hour of need, our public institutions failed her. The people employed by the state to help her, failed her.”
“Where is Police Minister Bheki Cele now? Where is the 72-hour manhunt to bring Vena’s alleged abductors and rapists to justice? His promises to end GBV are lip-service. I will be writing to the Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, to immediately launch an investigation into this matter.” | Nqaba Bhanga
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