Allegations of Sexual Assault and Handcuffing Against Officer in Gqeberha Sparks Investigation

• A police officer in Gqeberha is under investigation for the alleged handcuffing and assault of a woman
• The incident allegedly occurred in the officer's barracks room on 24 February 2026 in Nelson Mandela Bay
• Police said the case docket had been handed to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

EASTERN CAPE, GQEBERHA - A police officer in Nelson Mandela Bay is under investigation after a woman accused him of handcuffing and assaulting her in his barracks room at the Mount Road Police Station.

Criminal case against the officer

The alleged incident occurred on 24 February 2026, but the complainant reported the matter to the police last Tuesday. The woman has since opened a criminal case against the officer. Police said the case docket had been handed to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). IPID spokesperson Phaladi Shuping confirmed that the matter was under investigation.

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Shuping said the alleged incident occurred at police barracks linked to the Mount Road police station in Gqeberha. According to IOL, the management had allegedly failed to enforce rules governing the barracks, claiming that women visitors were not permitted in male members' rooms but that some officers' girlfriends had moved into the accommodation.

Accommodation reserved for SAPS members

The Mount Road police station is the largest in the Nelson Mandela Bay area and also houses the district office overseeing 18 police stations. Police barracks are official accommodation reserved for SAPS members and typically restrict access to authorised occupants and approved visitors.

The barracks were previously in the spotlight after a rat infestation was discovered there. A nest found in the barracks caused rats to spread across the premises and into the adjacent police station on the same property, where they reportedly chewed through vehicle wiring and computer cables.

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Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said at the time that the station had reported the infestation to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, the custodian of the building. She said supply chain management had procured rat poison as an interim measure and placed it regularly in identified problem areas.

Other crime-related stories

An off-duty law enforcement officer narrowly survived after being shot during a hijacking in Delft early on Sunday morning, 8 March 2026. The City of Cape Town confirmed that the officer is attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) in Philippi East. City law enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason said the officer sustained a gunshot wound to the stomach and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

South Africans have shared their views following the alleged re-enlistment of 62 experienced detectives in the South African Police Service (SAPS). The move is aimed at strengthening crime investigations in the Western Cape. Many of the detectives had previously retired or resigned but have now returned to help boost investigative capacity in a province heavily affected by gang-related crime.

The Western Cape recorded 1,157 murders between October and December 2025, 41 fewer than the same period last year. Despite the slight drop, officials say the province remains at the centre of South Africa’s violent crime crisis. Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile presented the third-quarter crime statistics for the 2025/2026 financial year at a media briefing in Cape Town.

Source: Briefly News