A Uruguayan rugby player on tour in South Africa was granted R20 000 bail on Tuesday, after being charged with raping a Zimbabwean woman in his hotel room.
The player (29) may not be named until he pleads to the charge in the Cape Town Regional Court later this year.
With him in the dock of the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court was a 40-year-old supporter of the Lobos club. He is also charged with raping the woman.
Tuesday’s proceedings before magistrate Juhstree Steyn were disrupted briefly when the supporter burst into tears.
Defence counsel Peter Mihalik requested a short adjournment to enable the man to recover.
One of bail conditions was that the two men may not enter any international airport until their case is finalised.
Steyn warned them that they were not even allowed to go to the Cape Town International Airport when the Lobos team returned to Uruguay.
“If you fail to comply with any of your bail conditions, a warrant will be issued for your re-arrest,” the magistrate warned.
“You will be re-arrested, and I will revoke your bail and keep you in custody until your case has been finalised.”
Sworn statement
Detective Constable Mzukisi Tswina was questioned in court about a sworn statement the victim made.
It transpired that the woman, who had a car of her own, met the two men at the Cubana night club in the Cape Town CBD last Saturday night.
When the club closed, she offered them a lift to another night spot, and then drove them to the Ritz Hotel in Sea Point, where the Lobos players were booked in.
Because she was the worse for liquor, she “said she accepted an invitation to “sleep it off” in a spare bed in their room, but awoke during the night to find one of the men having sex with her.
Instead of leaving the room and reporting the incident, she went back to sleep — to awaken three more times to find that she was being raped.
It transpired that the woman refused to leave the room, causing the two men and their team management to notify the hotel management.
The woman informed the hotel management of her ordeal, and the manager notified the police.
Prosecutor Phindile Sityata said it was possible that two more suspects would be arrested, after an identification parade to be held on Thursday.
The case was postponed to April 28. — Sapa