A couple was robbed and the wife allegedly raped by two men at Ha-Mudimeli last week.

According to the police, the victims are a 47-year-old man and his 33-year-old wife. They were coming from work when the two suspects, Emanuel Matila and his brother Samuel, allegedly stopped them and demanded money. They grabbed R1 000 from the husband and then dragged his wife to a nearby graveyard, where they allegedly repeatedly raped her.

The woman managed to escape when the two culprits allegedly started fighting each other.

The spokesperson for the Mphephu police, W/O Lazarus Netshidzati, said that the events took place shortly after 20:00. "The two were arrested immediately after the incident," he said.

Netshidzati said that although cases of common robbery and rape had been opened with the police, the woman later came and changed her statement, claiming that she had not been raped and had only been assaulted. The police were forced to open another case of assault,"he said.

It is not known why the woman had changed her statement.

The suspects had since been arrested. They appeared in the Dzanani Magistrate's Court last Tuesday and the case was postponed 25 May, while the two remain in custody.