Limpopo police are looking for a rapist who preyed on a 101-year-old woman in her home over the weekend.

The woman was sleeping when the man broke the door of her house in Mogapeng Village, outside Tzaneen, in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.

He then raped her. She apparently lived alone.

READ | 67-year-old thwarts attack on 84-year-old relative, gets stabbed with garden shears

Mojapelo said they immediately launched a manhunt for the unknown perpetrator.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba urged residents to keep an eye out for the elderly in their area as they were often targeted by people who took advantage of their vulnerability.

"Police members must hunt down the culprit and not rest until his arrest," he said.

READ | Two young men arrested for rape of elderly woman after traditional ceremony

He also instructed members of the social crime prevention unit to visit the woman's family and provide an update about the victim's condition.

Anyone who has information about the suspect should contact Lieutenant Colonel Jenny Meyer on 082 469 2625, Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or their nearest police station.