80 men appear in South Africa court for gang rape of 8 women during music video shoot
- Gang forced their way into a music video shoot at a mine dump near Johannesburg
- Eight women from the cast were raped in an incident that has shocked South Africa
More than 80 men suspected of the gang rapes of eight women and the armed robbery of a video production crew in the South African town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, appeared in court on Monday.
The men were arrested at an abandoned mining site following the alleged rapes and robbery near the disused mine.
The suspects are allegedly illegal miners known as zama-zamas who dig for gold in the Johannesburg area’s many closed mine shafts. Many of the illegal miners are foreigners, according to local reports.
The zama-zama gangs of illegal miners are also blamed for widespread crime in the area, according to local residents.
The gang rapes occurred when a crew filming a music video at one of the abandoned mines was attacked by armed men on Thursday last week, according to police.
“The crew of 22 people – 12 women and 10 men – were busy filming a music video when they were allegedly attacked by a group of armed men clad in blankets,” Police Commissioner for Gauteng province Lieutenant General Elias Mawela said in a statement.