Rape case or R30 000 threat ends in suicide
· Citizen
A 41-year-old Mpumalanga father saw no other way out and took his life when his lover allegedly laid rape charges after he failed to pay R30 000, bringing into sharp focus the growing scourge of “sextortion”.
Distraught relatives, friends, and community members said Calvin Kgodisho Shalang, from Waterval A, became increasingly distressed, fearing both arrest and the social stigma attached to rape allegations.
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Shalang hanged himself after lover demanded R30 000 and filed rape case
Unable to raise the money and reportedly overwhelmed by the accusation, he hanged himself and was buried on 20 March.
The civil servant hanged himself last month, days after the woman he allegedly had consensual sex with allegedly opened a rape case against him at the Siyabuswa police station.
The two are said to have met at a local social venue and ended up spending the night together.
The situation reportedly took a devastating turn soon after the case was registered.
“In the morning, the woman demanded money and threatened to report him for rape. He did not have that kind of money and she went on to open the case. Then my friend, obviously fearing prison, panicked and took his life,” said a friend who asked not to be named.
His grieving mother said she was still devastated by her son’s death and circumstances thereof and was not ready to talk about it.
Shalang told family about extortion
But a relative, who also asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said at first Shalang had told his family about the extortion.
They agreed to pay the woman R3 000 and the matter was settled.
However, when the woman’s father heard about the agreement, he was allegedly enraged and demanded they pay R30 000.
“He could not raise that cash and the case was opened. That is when he saw no other way out but to end his life,” said the relative.
“He had never been to prison and has avoided trouble all his life, so death was the only way out for him as he knew that he would be arrested.”
The relative said it was not the first time his nephew was extorted after having consensual sex, saying a similar incident happened in 2015.
Similar incident happened in 2015
He said they were able deal with the first incident, which he said happened in Pretoria, by contacting a relative who was a police captain for advice.
The incident has sparked rage in the local community as the deceased was popular, a socialite, known for his well-mannered demeanour and sense of humour.
“The rape accuser has since been taken into hiding as the community is baying for her blood. We are angry as the community because we know he would never rape,” said local resident Donald Phasha said.
Mavense Matentjie, who has known the deceased since 1992, said he could still not believe that Shalang took his life, but said he understood the pressure he was under.
“I am still shocked and have so many questions. I am just hopeful that police will get to the bottom of this incident,” he said.
“He was loved by everybody and as such his death, particularly the circumstances leading to that, has affected the larger part of this community.”
Blackmailers use people posing as cops investigating
The Citizen understands the rape accuser grew up in the area but relocated to Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria, several years back.
“She was only here for that weekend of the incident. Note that townships in the Bronkhorstspruit area are riddled with stories of women targeting men at taverns, have sex with them and then threaten them with rape charges,” another resident said.
People in the area said the blackmailers sometimes use people posing as cops investigating the rape charges, in order to scare the target into paying up.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo had not replied to questions at the time of publishing.