By Kaya 959 Reporter
A Western Cape police officer has been suspended after he allegedly raped a 29-year-old man in police custody.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has condemned the incident and called for the officer to be prosecuted.
She said the officer’s prosecution must set an example for other police officers. Police watchdog, Ipid, is investigating the matter.
Ipid spokesperson, Grace Langa, said the 31-year-old police constable was called out to a shopping mall in Nyanga where the man was accused of shoplifting.
“He was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police van. He was taken to the Nyanga police station where a female officer was picked up and dropped off in Crossroads,” Langa said.
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Victim reports rape
The policeman allegedly drove to a gravel road where he opened the door and told the man to get out.
“The policeman made him kneel down and pointed a gun at his stomach. The officer then proceeded to fondle the man’s private parts while he watched a porn video. He then raped the man and told him to get back inside the van,” Langa alleged.
She said the officer then drove to his house in Khayelitsha, changed out of his uniform into civilian clothing before he dropped the man off in Gugulethu.
Langa said the victim told his cousin, a police officer, about the ordeal. The victim then opened a rape case.
She said the officer was arrested and detained. He is due in court on Tuesday.
Joemat-Pettersson welcomed the officer’s arrest.
“The relationship between SAPS and the community is harmed by such abuse of power by some rotten elements within the SAPS. While we don’t want to influence the internal process in any way, the committee has since its inception spoken strongly against the abuse of power and authority by the very people that are supposed to enforce the law.
“The police members are not the law. They must enforce the law and are also subject to the law. We maintain that the SAPS must do all it can to rid the service of such criminals in order to regain the credibility of the service,” Ms Joemat-Pettersson concluded.



