Pumas Rugby
Former under-21 Blue Bulls player Khwezi Mafu has been acquitted on charges of rape and robbery in the Gqeberha Magistrates on Wednesday.
The former Grey High School pupil was arrested in December 2017 after an 18-year-old woman accused him of raping her at a flat in Central.
The woman alleged that the rape happened after a night of drinking at a social gathering.
She also accused Mafu of stealing her cell phone.
Mafu, 25, has always maintained his innocence.
When the case resumed on Wednesday, Magistrate Joe Grootboom granted Mafu's lawyer, Danie Gouws, an application to have the charges dismissed at the close of the state's case.
The court dismissed the complainant's evidence as false.
Gouws said his client was very emotional upon hearing the verdict.
"He has been through six years of hell. Finally, he can put this nightmarish ordeal behind him."
"There's no denying that his career took a knock. He was playing alongside Damian Willemse and Manie Libbok, and he was going to Captain the Junior Boks at that stage.
"We hope he can continue to build his career from here on," said Gouws.
Mafu now plays for the Pumas.
