Staff Reporter|A BEITBRIDGE man who offered a stranded woman a job as a maid but allegedly raped her over six days, has been let out of custody after police in the town delayed to bring the man to court.

Lonias Shoko, 44, of Makavhani Village near Lutumba Growth Point, allegedly locked his victim, whose name has been withheld to protect her identity, in his bedroom from September 18 to 23, with just a bucket to use for ablution.

He allegedly told the woman that she was now his wife and proposed to acquire a birth certificate for her young child in his name. He eventually released her after six days and threatened to kill her if she divulged the rape and imprisonment.

But she told her story to a relative who reported the matter to the police, leading to Shoko’s arrest.

Shoko appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Nyatsine who granted him freedom after his lawyer, Jabulani Mzinyathi submitted that his client had been over detained.

According to the law, an arrested person must appear before the courts within forty eight hours of their arrest. Any further detention should be granted by the courts.

The court ruled that Shoko will only be summoned back to appear in court when police complete their investigations.