Staggie rape victim shot in SA

  By Megan Baadjies

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INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Rashied Staggie. File photo: Shawn Uys

Cape Town - The woman who was allegedly kidnapped and raped by former gang boss Rashied Staggie is fighting for her life in hospital after she was shot.

Gunmen pumped several bullets into the Manenberg woman’s body and killed a male friend who was with her in the early hours of on Tuesday morning.

The 30-year-old mom of six, who cannot be identified because she is the victim of a sex crime, is on life support at GF Jooste Hospital.

She was shot in her head, neck, face, back and hands by suspected gangsters.

Staggie is set to be released on day parole from September 24, after being convicted of the then woman’s kidnapping and rape.

Meanwhile, her friend Romano Oliver, 27, died at the bloody scene shortly after midnight.

The two were walking home when they were confronted by their attackers who first asked for a cigarette before opening fire on them.

Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said Romano was shot in the head.

“Police were busy with crime prevention duties in Red River Road when they heard gunshots,” he told the Daily Voice.

“On investigation police discovered the body of a 27-year-old male.

“He was shot once through the head and a 30-year-old female was wounded and taken to hospital.”

Cops are still searching for the suspects who will face charges of murder and attempted murder.

In 2003, Staggie and co-accused Randall Bosch were found guilty of kidnapping and raping the victim who was then in her teens.

At the time, the young mom testified that Staggie took her to an isolated area and forced her at gunpoint to have sex with three men.

Staggie, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the attack.

On Tuesday, the victim’s mother, 55, revealed she always feared for her daughter’s life – even 12 years after the attack.

The mom said: “It affected our family in a really bad way. I always worried about her and when we heard Staggie was coming out, we became even more fearful.”

The mom said that her daughter had identified her shooters.

“A neighbour came to call us at home to say they were both shot and lying on a field in Red River Road,” she added.

She said her daughter crawled from the field to a nearby house where she collapsed.

“When I arrived there, she could still talk and she could tell me who it was,” the mother said.

“I held her hand when she asked me to and I prayed with my child. She kept apologising to me.”

The concerned mother said her daughter insisted on going out to a friend earlier after they had an argument.

“I told her not to go because she was going into the Hard Livings territory,” she said.

“But when she insisted on going, I told her to be back in 30 minutes.

“As I watched her walk down the road, I could see the Hard Livings running across the road.”

About 40 minutes after the victim left her home, they were shot.

“I should have fetched her when I said I would,” the devastated mom said.

“If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have let her go because I had a feeling something would go wrong.”

There was a strong police presence in Renoster Road, a short distance from the home where the victim lives with her young children.

Cop sources said that Manenberg has exploded in violence in the last month as rival gangs wage war in the area.