NPA confirms 40-year-old man accused of rape from 7 years ago appeared in court

CAPE TOWN - The Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation has welcomed the recent arrest of a 40-year-old man for a reported rape case that took place in Piketberg, seven years ago.

The National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the accused appeared in the Piketberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where he was charged with rape.

The director of the Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation, Billy Claasen, said the woman was heavily intoxicated when the incident occurred in 2017, and did not know who raped her.

Claasen said in April 2021, a case of assault was opened against the same accused at the Piketberg Police Station where a DNA sample was taken.

"The lab let them know that the buccal test of this person and the DNA taken from the woman [at the time of the rape] match each other," explained Classen. 

The Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation is calling on the State to oppose bail when the accused appears in court again on 16 April.