A man asked his young gay friend for a cigarette. Then he struck, dragged him into the bushes and brutally raped him
A 21-year-old gay man in Cape Town, South Africa, was dragged brutally into streetside bushes and raped by a man all because he gave him a cigarette.
Loved ones of the victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told IOL how he was walking along Church Street in the Langa township on Saturday evening (22 August), some seven miles from the city, when he was approached by a man, asking if he could grab a smoke.
He complied, the mother claimed, and the two walked along the street before the assailant struck her son and pulled him into a throng of bushes dotting nearby Bhunga Avenue.
Local authorities stated that the attack was likely motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation and have arrested the rapist, in an incident which the victim believes was premeditated.
Gay son arrives shaken and in tears after being raped by a friend, says mother of victim.
The mother said that at around 11pm, her son arrived home in tears, waking up her grandchildren. Shaking, he told the family what happened to him earlier that evening and hasn’t slept for days since, she said.
“He was called by a man while walking in Church Street,” she said, “after he went to check on his friend and after he purchased a cigarette in Nkandla.
“He called him and asked him if he could share it. After agreeing, he said they walked a distance and after that, he attacked him and dragged him to a bush, where he raped him.”
She stressed that the family knew her son was gay and love him all the same. But outside the safe walls of the house, she said, he has been targeted on several occasions for being gay.
“He was almost raped here in Langa and at boarding school in Stellenbosch,” she said, referring to the university town in the country’s Western Cape province.
“He once arrived here traumatised after he was attacked and almost got raped by a group of men in Stellenbosch.”
“This time he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and we fear what these incidents will do to him,” she said.
“From what he’s telling us it seems as if the perpetrator had been planning this.”
Anele Gqasana, a spokesperson for the human rights charity Langa Community Advice Services, told the outlet that the attacker targeted the victim based on his sexual orientation.
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999.
Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
For those based in South Africa, please call Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust on 021 447 9762.
