Nurse reported for alleged rape

A nurse based at Hlatikulu Government Hospital has been reported to the police for allegedly raping a 23-year-old woman.

The incident is said to have happened last Friday at the Nurses’ Home located within the health facility in the Shiselweni region.

Names of the woman and the nurse cannot be published as the former is a survivor of abuse, while the latter has not been officially charged and appeared before court yet.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed that there was a report of rape allegations against a man at Hlatikulu Police Station. She said an investigation was ongoing.

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Sources close to the matter said the woman, who hails from Mkhondvo under Shiselweni II Constituency, had gone to visit the nurse. When asked if they were in a relationship, sources claimed they had been in contact for a while.

It was reported that the two knew each other and usually communicated through social media, phone and video calls. Through such contact, the nurse allegedly asked the woman to visit him at his house, an invitation she reportedly honoured. The two are said to have spent some time together, and it was during the course of the day that the alleged rape occurred.

Other claims
The case was reported to the police after over a month since other women took to social media to declare that they had been raped, allegedly by the same healthcare worker. Some of the women made these declarations anonymously.

One woman claimed that the nurse had been courting her since 2024. She said that during their communication, he invited her to his house in Hlatikulu on the premise that she would fetch her birthday gift.

In her post, the woman claimed that a day before her visit, she told the nurse she would not sleep with him, and he reportedly agreed to respect her decision. However, she alleged that once at his house, he raped her.

Other women also shared similar encounters with the nurse. Based on their posts, the modus operandi was almost the same: after a period of communication, the nurse would invite them to his house, where they alleged he forced himself on them.

At the time the posts were made, social media users had mixed reactions, with some blaming the women for visiting a man they did not know.

Meanwhile, when asked about these reports, Senior Superintendent Vilakati maintained that the police were only investigating the case that was reported last Friday.

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