By Luvuyo Mjekula

A Plettenberg Bay guest house owner has accused a Knysna policeman of raping her while his colleague allegedly held her down.

The 32-year-old woman told the police she had gone to a Knysna restaurant with friends and left after a quarrel in the early hours of Sunday.

She said she decided to walk on the main road towards Plettenberg Bay, but saw a police vehicle in a nearby parking area.

She approached the car and asked the two policemen to give her a lift home and they agreed, she said in a statement.

"She said the driver pulled her into the car and the passenger pulled her pants down.
"She said one of the policemen raped her while the other held her down," said police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie. He said a rape docket had been opened and police would make arrests after an ID parade on Tuesday.

"The officers have not been arrested but we will arrest them today if they are pointed out in the ID parade," he said.

One officer would face a rape charge and the other would be arrested as an accomplice, said Pojie.

The George Family, Violence and Child Protection Unit is investigating the case.

Community Safety MEC Lennit Max said he was "disgusted" by the incident.

He said if found guilty, the officers did not deserve to wear the SA Police Service uniform and would face the full force of the law: "When police officers act like criminals, they will be treated like criminals," he said.

Max urged members of the public not to lose trust in the police.

He said he would personally follow the case and ensure that the members, if found guilty, "paid for the crime they committed against a woman who trusted them".

luvuyo.mjekula@inl.co.za

This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Times on February 09, 2010