10 Mar 2020

 Police in Masunga are working round the clock to fight incest in the North East District.

Station commander, Superintendent Gaolatlhe Ngayaya said last year alone, a total of nine cases were registered in the Masunga policing area.

Speaking during Men’s conference in Masunga recently, Superintendent Ngayaya said sexual relations between minors and the elderly who were relatives, only came to the attention of the police when it ended in pregnancy.

She highlighted that due to family ties, such incidences remained closely guarded secret and therefore difficult to investigate.

Supt Ngayaya said incest cases were a cause for concern throughout the district.

She also blamed the incidences on some cultural practices.

“Due to practices that tolerate incest, some people consciously engage in relationships with young girls fully aware that no action would be taken against them by family members,” she said.

Furthermore, Supt Ngayaya said police were handling numerous cases where girls under the age of 18 were found locked up inside houses belonging to public servants during weekends.

This, she said, was common amongst vulnerable girls who were enticed by elderly men with material possessions.

Some of the young girls who frequented bars and clubs, she added, deceived their suitors to belief they were above 18.

Supt Ngayaya thus urged men to make it a habit to demand for IDs from young women before engaging in any form of sexual activity with them in order to protect both parties from the wrath of the law.

“It’s a criminal offense to sleep with a child under the age of 18, whether a boy or girl, as it would be treated as defilement,” she warned.

Meanwhile, Supt Ngayaya revealed that 19 cases of rape were registered in 2019 compared to 10 in 2018 within Masunga policing area.

A rape offence, she said, constituted 10 years minimum imprisonment and 15 years when the offender was HIV positive. ENDS