‘I WAS RAPED OVER AND OVER’

A YOUNG woman has shared the chilling details of how she was kidnapped and repeatedly raped over 12 hours after she was abducted by a man in Khayelitsha

Ongeziwe Poni, 20, who has given permission to be identified, said the terrifying ordeal began on the evening of 30 March at around 9pm, when she encountered the accused, Siyabonga Zono, near her home.

As Zono appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court yesterday, she says: “He first told me to look at him. When I refused, he showed me a knife – then I looked at him.”

Zono allegedly searched her and demanded her cellphone. After she told him she didn’t have it, he forced her to walk with him. Poni said they ended up at an informal settlement where he pushed her into an outdoor toilet.

She adds: “He told me to take my clothes off and then he raped me multiple times. He threatened to kill me if I made any noise and showed me several knives.”

Afterwards, he told her to get dressed. Poni said she left her underwear and jersey behind in the toilet, hoping they would serve as evidence.

The horror continued as Zono took her to a nearby field, close to a train line. There she alleges he raped her again.

The accused then took her to a friend’s shack, but when he couldn’t get in, they went to another shack where he allegedly kept her overnight.

Poni says: “He continued to rape me throughout the night. In between, he would smoke a pill mixed with a cigarette. I tried to fight him off, but I was scared he would overpower me.”

Just before 9am, Zono reportedly told her he would get a taxi for her. As they walked, he kept directing her toward nearby bushes.

She adds: “I got scared because I thought he was going to kill me and dump my body in the dunes. I was saved when I saw my aunt and told her what had happened. But by that time, he had already run away.”

Zono was arrested on 14 April and has since applied for bail. Zono will return to court on 5 June.