Four men have been arrested in connection with the rape of two foreign missionaries and the shooting of one of them on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, police said on Monday.
Captain Vincent Pandarum said the two women — one from Kenya and the other from the United States — were raped on Friday night as they were walking home on the Old Harding Road near Oslo Beach.
The two, who had been working in the area for the past two years, were first robbed of their handbags before the 23-year old Kenyan was shot in the stomach.
They were then both raped.
Pandarum said the injured woman was in a stable, but serious condition while the 21-year old Californian was highly traumatised.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said the two women had been transferred from Port Shepstone hospital to St Augustine’s hospital in Durban.
Shortly after the attack police responded to an attempted robbery.
Pandarum said it appeared as if the same four men attempted to rob two men who were warming themselves near a fire. A scuffle broke out and two men were arrested in the dense bush after being tracked down by police dogs. On Sunday police arrested a third man, who they believe was involved while on Monday morning a 23-year old man handed himself over to the police at Port Shepstone.
Pandarum said detectives believe that the four men were also involved in two other armed robberies that took place after the rape of the two missionaries.
It was not immediately known with which church the two women were associated. – Sapa