Police Officer Accused of Raping Trainee at Tshwane Academy Granted Bail

• The South African Police Service officer who alleggedly raped a trainee at an academy in Tshwane was granted bail
• The 59-year-old officer allegedly assaulted her at the Pretoria West SAPS Training College in May
• He was given R8000 bail and South Africans were livid that the officer, who was accused of anothet rape, was let go

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

PRETORIA — The Pretoria Magistrates Court granted the 59-year-old South African Police Service officer accused of raping a trainee R8000 bail. South Africans are livid that he received bail.

Alleged rapist officer given bail

According to the South African Police Service, the captain allegedly raped the 20 year-old at the Pretoria West SAPS Training College in May. He threatened to serve her with a letter of misconduct for failing to salute him if she did not have sex with him. He also faces sexual charges from another victim.

His lawyer slams charges

The officer's lawyer, Andrew Maoba, slammed the allegations and said they are baseless. He said the state has not provided them with a list of witnesses. Maoba added that the bail conditions, which included the officer reporting to the nearest police station twice a week, imply that he could intimidate the witnesses.

The Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, condemned the incident in the strongest terms. He said not only was the act a criminal offence, but a shameful abuse of power and betrayal of the trust placed on those who are called to train and mentor the next generation of officers.

A Tshwane meteo police officer was arrested in 2024 after allgedly raping a citizen. He offered her assistance after her boyfriend did not fetch her from the bus stop. He took her to his home where he allegedly raped her.

What did South Africans say?

South Africans were livid that he was given bail.

Psyfo Wako Mntimande Papamandu said:

"So after one month, he will go back to work and be the boss of that lady again."

Hlumisa Vuso said:

"At this point, it's embarrassing to be a South African."

Lovemore Shikwambana said:

"We all know he will walk, especially if the poor trainee cannot prove a thing."

Resca Ruddy said:

"This makes me question how many times he got away with this. Surely this was not his first."

Athenkosi Bambelihle Jewu said:

"This law is failing us to infinity and beyond."

Andre Tommy Tshabalala said:

"That's the the reason I decided not to study law. I was so interested in being a prosecutor, but later realized that our system is a joke."

Looking at sexual abuse cases in SA

Over the past six financial years, from 2018/2019 to 2023/2024, South Africa recorded 106,001 child rape cases. This averages to about 1,472 cases per month, or roughly 48 per day. In the same period, 22,722 cases of child sexual assault were reported, amounting to an average of 316 cases per month, or around 10 per day.

The DA stated that these figures are deeply alarming, and yet they likely underrepresent the full scale of the crisis, as many cases of rape and sexual assault go unreported.

Adding to the concern, there has been a significant increase in attempted murders and grievous bodily harm (GBH) against women and children. Notably, between April and June 2024 alone, 91 children were raped at school, according to recent crime statistics.

Eastern Cape officer given life forraping minor

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a senior officer in the Eastern Cape was given a life sentence for raping a 15 year-old. The officer, Mzukusi Landu, was found guilty of multiple offences.

The victim began to live with Landu in Ilutha township in 2014 when she was 11 years old. Over the next four years until 2018, He also inappropriately touched and assaulted her.

In 2018, he offered her a soft drink, which caused her to pass out. He then raped her and threatened to shoot he dead if she reported it. She told her mother, and he later handed himself over.

Source: Briefly News