By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Police authorities in South Africa have tendered a public apology over the controversial circumstances under which names of rape victims were made public.
The National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola said eight victims of Krugersdorp attack who were raped in July 2022 had their details leaked online.
The apology came after names, surnames, age and physical addresses of the eight women found its way to the public domain.
Their personal information were disclosed on the police WhatsApp groups, which found its way to social media.
The South Africa Police Service expressed regret over the disclosure of such personal information and apologised to the victims for the information breach and the hardship caused as a result.
Following the incident, General Masemola ordered an internal departmental investigation into the matter to ascertain the root cause.
The outcome of the probe indicates that the personal information of victims was released inappropriately, but no ill-intent was found.
