SAPS IN CRISIS: Top cop arrested for alleged rape and sexual grooming amid Madlanga inquiry, GBV scourge

A senior South African Police Service officer is facing criminal charges for allegedly raping a teen in a Sandton hotel earlier this year and recently sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl. Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane has reiterated that an officer’s seniority or rank does not place them above the law.

A lieutenant general with the South African Police Service (SAPS) is set to appear in a Gauteng court after his arrest for allegedly raping a teen girl and sexually grooming another.

The 59-year-old, who has not been officially identified, is expected in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.

The SABC’s Heidi Giokos reported that sources said the lieutenant general had been at a strip club near the Sandton police station when he heard he was being detained.

A SAPS statement issued on Monday evening said: “The senior officer faces charges relating to the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl between July and August 2026, as well as the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman.

“The alleged rape is reported to have occurred at a hotel in Sandton in May 2026.”

Members of the Commissions Recommendations Task Team carried out his arrest.

#sapsHQ [SAPS ACTING NATIONAL COMMISSIONER WELCOMES ARREST OF SENIOR OFFICER ON SEXUAL OFFENCES CHARGES] The Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, has welcomed the arrest of a 59-year-old senior police officer… pic.twitter.com/kAdLFCZw4t

The police service has previously explained that the team “is responsible for investigating matters arising from recommendations made by the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.”

This means the lieutenant general’s arrest is tied to the commission’s work – it is investigating whether a cartel has infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice system, politics and private sector.

So far, over more than a year of testimony from various witnesses, it has heard many accusations against, among others, law enforcers, including senior police officers.

The lieutenant general’s arrest on Monday now adds to the list of officers detained and (when he appears in court on Tuesday) criminally charged.

Monday’s arrest comes as police are focused on investigations into nine murdered women whose bodies were discovered in Gauteng’s East Rand, sparking fears of a serial killer.

The multiple murders have also caused a national outcry against gender-based violence and femicide.