A rape suspect from Limpopo will get his day in court after swift action from local police led to a manhunt and arrest just two days after the alleged crime.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the 20-year-old female victim left home with a friend of her landlord on Wednesday, January 15, to go drinking at Ladanna Industrial area outside Polokwane. It is alleged that the 42-year-old suspect then raped her inside the vehicle in which she was travelling.
After being released from the car, the victim went to her local police station and opened a case of rape.
“Seshego Police together with Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) executed an intelligence driven joint operation to hunt down the suspect,” the SAPS said in a statement.
“On Friday 17 January 2025 at about 08:00, police swiftly acted upon information received about the location of the suspect who was busy with carpentry duties at an identified house in Zone 5H.”
Police officers then rushed to the premises and arrested the male suspect. Investigations into the alleged rape are ongoing, according to Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Thakeng.
In a separate case, a clinic in Ga-Chuene outside Polokwane was closed last Friday after a heavily armed man allegedly entered the clinic, overpowered security and then abducted and raped two nurses at the clinic.
After briefly reopening on Tuesday, the clinic was closed again and will remain so indefinitely until further notice, department spokesperson Kapudi Moagi said.
IOL