18-Year-Old Arrested for Fabricating Rape and Kidnapping Claims in Verulam

An 18-year-old woman has been arrested by detectives from the KwaZulu-Natal Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for allegedly opening a false case of rape and kidnapping at the Verulam police station.

The teenager reported the fabricated incident on 2 May, claiming that she had been kidnapped and gang-raped after attending a party in Waterloo.

According to KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the woman initially told officers that she and her friends had called an e-hailing vehicle to take them home. However, she claimed that the driver took them to Durban instead. 

She further alleged that she was forced to hand over a packet with unknown contents to another vehicle, after which she was taken to a club in Clermont where she claimed to have been assaulted, forced to take drugs, and raped by multiple men.

In response to the serious allegations, police opened cases of rape and kidnapping and launched an investigation.

However, during the investigation, the woman confessed to fabricating the entire incident. “The complainant later confessed that she had lied out of fear of her mother and a desire to avoid embarrassment in her community,” said Netshiunda.

She was arrested and charged with perjury and defeating the ends of justice. The woman has already appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court and was released on bail.

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi condemned the teenager’s actions and warned that such behaviour would not be tolerated.

“As police, we are doing everything we can to end the scourge of gender-based violence and all acts of criminality directed at women and children. We cannot afford to have women reporting imaginary cases for their own benefit,” he said.

He also highlighted the potential damage that false reports can cause. “Many men could have been arrested and detained based on lies, and such would incur civil claims against the police. Reporting fake cases is a waste of police human and physical resources, and anyone who does that will be prosecuted accordingly,” said Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi.

THE MERCURY