GAUTENG. – A 59-year-old senior police officer holding the rank of lieutenant-general was taken into custody on Monday on charges relating to sexual offences. He is accused of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl between July and August and of raping an 18-year-old woman at a hotel in Sandton in May. He is expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate's Court today.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, national police spokesperson, said the arrest was carried out by members of the commission's recommendation task force.
Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, the acting national police commissioner, welcomed the arrest and strongly condemned the alleged conduct. Dimpane emphasised that police officers have a special responsibility to protect women and children from violence, abuse and exploitation. According to her, the fight against gender-based violence and femicide must also be accompanied by accountability within the police, and rank or seniority must place no one above the law.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
