Durban rape cover-up trial: survivor testifies police pressured her to withdraw charges

Q in CCTV footage entered into evidence crying and wiping her eyes while left in police holding cells.

• A woman known as Q testified in the Durban Magistrates Court that two police officers took her from her home in an unmarked car — with her rapist in the front seat — and pressured her to withdraw her complaint.
• Q was later placed in a holding cell at Brighton Beach police station, where she says she eventually agreed with police that she had lied because she felt pressured and wanted the ordeal to be over.
• Three officers face charges of defeating the course of justice and intimidation.
• The rapist Q accused was subsequently convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison in February 2025 for her rape.

The complainant in the rape cover-up trial ended her testimony and cross-examination on Wednesday in the Durban Magistrates Court after four days on the stand.

The woman, referred to as Q by GroundUp on account of her being in witness protection, was raped by Zwelakhe Mashaba on 5 March 2023.

Q is the state’s key witness in a case against three police officers from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit based at Brighton Beach police station.

Officer Gugulethu Buthelezi faces a charge of defeating the course of justice by releasing Mashaba after his arrest, leaving Mashaba free to intimidate Q, while Phila Xulu and Sanele Zuma face charges of intimidation relating to the arrest of Q on 27 March 2023.

Since the alleged “cover up” by the officers, Mashaba was convicted of raping Q and sentenced to ten years in jail in February 2025.

It is alleged that after Mashaba’s initial arrest, Buthelezi authorised his release using a 328 form, which is issued when there is no or insufficient evidence to charge a suspect. The state argues there was prima facie evidence.

According to the defence, the 328 form cannot be traced and the court therefore has not been furnished with the reasons for Mashaba’s release.

Account of events

Q testified that she opened a rape case against Mashaba on 5 March 2023.

On 18 March, she opened a case of intimidation against him, alleging that he had threatened to kill her.

She told the court that on 27 March, Xulu and Zuma arrived at her home in the Bluff in an unmarked car. Q said she heard Zuma instruct people outside her home to step back and lie on the ground. She testified that Zuma was carrying a firearm and escorted her to the vehicle.

Inside the vehicle, she saw Mashaba seated in the front and Xulu in the driving seat.

She told the court she was taken to the home of people who had witnessed Mashaba’s alleged intimidation, but no one was there.

Q said during the approximately ten-minute drive, she was called a liar and pressured to withdraw her complaint. She was told her son would become a “junkie” and would not listen to her. She said Mashaba was agreeing with the officers.

Q became emotional while describing the incident, telling the court that her children, including one she was still breastfeeding, were left unattended when she was taken from her home.

At the police station

Q testified that she was taken to Brighton Beach police station and placed in a holding cell near the charge office. The court heard that Q was told that if witnesses could not be found to support her version, she would be arrested.

CCTV footage shown in court depicted Mashaba being brought into the same passage, seated and restrained. The footage also shows interactions between Q and Xulu from the early evening and later that night. Q can be seen signing a document before being processed for arrest.

Q said the document related to her arrest and that she felt traumatised at the time.

She also testified that a police officer refused to assist her in retrieving medication from her home, allegedly telling her he would not help because she had opened a case against someone he knew.

Cross-examination

Attorney Clinton Short, representing Buthelezi and Zuma, questioned Q about the rape and her conduct. He told her that the J88 medical report confirmed penetration but did not indicate that the sexual encounter was non-consensual.

The defence was cautioned not to re-try the rape case during this trial.

Q maintained that she had been assaulted and lost consciousness during the rape.

Short suggested that she may have been intoxicated the night of the rape.

Q said that Buthelezi had told the district surgeon that people who are intoxicated sometimes make allegations of rape.

Short questioned whether Q had felt intimidated during her interactions with police, given that there were some instances where Q cried and other instances in which she didn’t.

He further suggested that the accused officers may have loud personalities, which could explain their manner of speaking to Q, which she had perceived as “harsh” and “aggressive”.

Q maintained that she was verbally abused during the drive and pressured to withdraw her complaint.

Short put it to her that she had previously left her children unattended.

Q rejected this, saying she was breastfeeding her baby and would not have done this.

Andile Makhwanazi, representing Xulu, focused on inconsistencies between Q’s statement and his client’s testimony.

Q said trauma had affected the level of detail in her original statement and that she was recalling additional information during the trial.

Makhwanazi accused her of not having been in a proper state of mind when making her statement. Q disagreed, saying her statement was accurate but incomplete.

He added that Q may have been influenced by the state to pursue charges against the officers. Q denied this.

Magistrate intervenes

During cross-examination, Short accused Q of using intimidation and harassment interchangeably, whereas harassment means ongoing intimidation.

Magistrate Mayne Mewalal intervened, saying Short’s understanding of harassment may be incorrect, especially in sexual crimes. She said his line of questioning was unfair.

Q told the court that the officers were in plain clothes and did not properly identify themselves.

The defence argued that the officers were not required to be in uniform and had identified themselves verbally. Q said that in the circumstances, proper identification was necessary.

Q further testified that after several hours in the cells, she had agreed that she had lied about being intimidated by Mashaba, because she felt pressured and wanted her ordeal to be over.

The trial is expected to continue with other witnesses.

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