A Free State police constable who was arrested after being accused of rape by a man he had arrested for urinating in public, a day earlier, has been set free. The male suspect opened a rape case against the cop and his partner after they picked him up for peeing in public in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Independent Police Investigative Directive (IPID) spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said the matter was not placed on the court roll because there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Shuping said allegations suggest that the constable stationed at Park Road SAPS in Bloemfontein raped a suspect he had just arrested for urinating in public on Sunday night while patrolling the area with his colleague on Sunday morning at around 3.05AM. "The police officers arrested the man and took him to the police station. When they arrived at the police station, the female colleague stayed in the car when the police constable went inside the station with the man," Shuping said. She added that after a few minutes inside the station, the constable came back with the complainant without booking him in and dropped him off at the taxi rank. "The complainant (21) later came back to the police station to open a case of rape against the police officer." IPID arrested the officer on Monday.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Police, Lirandzu Themba, said IPID should conduct its work at full capacity. Themba said if police officers are found on the opposite side of the law , they should face its might. "The Ministry of Police is aware of the shocking incidents and it is on record that the South African Police Service has zero tolerance for violence, let alone crime perpetrated by members of the service," said Themba.

Meanwhile, Themba Bafana Mahungela, who is accused of raping and strangling a Sandton school teacher, made his second appearance at the Alexandra Magistrates court yesterday and indicated that he intends to apply for bail. Kirsten Kluyts was killed by the 21-year-old Varsity College student while participating in a MyRun event in Sandton in October and was later discovered by a participant. The matter was postponed to 13 December for the bail application. The State previously said it would oppose bail for Mahungela.