A teenager is among four men who have been arrested for gang rape.

Mpumalanga police said the arrest comes after a group of seven men raped a 43-year-old woman in Mhluzi, Middelburg, on Saturday.

Provincial police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli said the teenager aged 17 and three others were arrested on Monday.

"According to the information, the woman is said to have accompanied a relative who had visited the family earlier and on her way back, she came across a group of men who were driving in a bakkie. The men allegedly alighted from the vehicle then dragged her to a nearby room where they took turns raping her," said Mdhluli.

"As if this was not enough, at about 5am the next day another man believed to be residing in the said room arrived, probably from work. Instead of the man rescuing the victim, he too allegedly joined the queue and raped her after chasing all the other suspects [away].

"Thereafter he fled the scene, leaving behind the woman who then reported the matter to the police. A rape case was opened and the docket was assigned to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit to probe."

He said the four are expected to appear at the Middelburg magistrate's court on Tuesday on rape charges.

"The men and women in blue are still in pursuit of the remaining suspects," Mdhluli said.

Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Semakaleng Manamela has strongly condemned the incident, labelling it barbaric.

"This is disheartening for such men to have even thought about acting like wild animals and preyed on a defenceless woman. The law should indeed take its course.

"Our members will also work hard to arrest the remaining suspects. So far we applaud the team for arresting the four and we are confident that it is just a matter of time before the outstanding ones are brought to book as well," said Manamela.

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