Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Undercover investigators have arrested an army captain and four soldiers for allegedly systematically ambushing, stripping, and robbing illegal Zimbabwean immigrants.

The SA National Defence Force soldiers also allegedly raped a number of Zimbabwean women before making them swim the crocodile-infested Limpopo River back to Zimbabwe.

"The claims are shocking, especially because the people involved are supposed to be protecting the public," said police task team leader Capt Fanie Molapo yesterday.

"We conducted a three-month undercover investigation and have arrested the first five soldiers on theft-related charges after finding a container full of loot that they'd allegedly stolen from Zimbabweans.

"Additional charges and arrests might follow as we collect further evidence."

The soldiers and their commanding officer were all arrested at the Madimbo military base on the Zimbabwean border on Sunday [15 August]. The men cannot be named until they appear in court later this week.

"The soldiers stripped the Zimbabweans of all their valuables and then handed them over to police to be deported. They failed, however, to hand over any of the confiscated goods," said Molapo.

"Undercover investigators recovered some of the contraband from a storage container in the Madimbo camp, including five new bicycles and 60 cartons of cigarettes.

"The Zimbabweans who complained to us mentioned both bicycles and cigarettes, so it appears that we have pretty strong evidence to back up the theft charges. We are still probing claims by some Zimbabweans that they were raped by soldiers," he said.

The river is notorious for crocodile attacks, with bodies of suspected "fence jumpers" routinely recovered from the South African side of the river.

"We will not hesitate to arrest anyone implicated in rapes or any other kind of human rights abuse in this matter," said Molapo.

SANDF spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi confirmed yesterday that the military was aware of the arrests and was monitoring the case closely.