ANC man's rape case withdrawn

Image: 123RF Stock Image/ lculig

The rape case against a high-ranking Limpopo government official has been withdrawn.

Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said both parties had submitted withdrawal statements.

"The matter is going to be referred to the National Director of Public Prosecutions for decision-making. We are not going to place the case on the roll," she said.

Malabi-Dzhangi refused to divulge the reasons for the withdrawal. The official, who works in premier Stan Mathabatha's office, was accused of raping a 30-year-old Botswana woman. The woman was a volunteer in the Cosafa Cup tournament in Polokwane.

Mathabatha spokesman Kenny Mathivha said they were happy that the charges had been dropped. "We have been saying that anyone is innocent until proven guilty," Mathivha said.

The official, who also withdrew the charges of extortion against the woman, was not seen in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court yesterday.

Meanwhile, EFF provincial secretary Jossey Buthane said they were disappointed that the charges against the official had been withdrawn.

"The dignity of a poor [woman] has been taken away and now she was pressurised to drop those charges," he said.

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