Windhoek City Police spokesperson accused of rape of a 29-year-old woman in January remains in custody after the magistrate’s court postponed the ruling in his bail application to 8 May to iron out a number of pending issues.
Magistrate Shaatuna Kalla was scheduled to give a ruling yesterday, however, she informed the court that there are some issues that she needed clarity on from both the applicant and the State. The court wanted clarity on the place of work of the victim and the accused Fabian Amukwelele (37) given the fact that they are both employed by City of Windhoek. Furthermore, witness statements that have not yet been obtained.
Giving clarity to the court, Amukwelele’s defence attorney Mbushandje Ntinda explained although the victim and Amukwelele are employed by City of Windhoek, their offices are kilometres apart. Amukwelele is stationed at City Police which is in Windhoek North and the victim is at City of Windhoek headquarters in the CBD.
“The applicant and the victim work at different departments that are under the umbrella of City of Windhoek. The victim is an intern and does not report to the applicant or the applicant’s supervisor. There would be no contact between them,” explained Ntinda.
Ntinda added that the court can give an order that would prohibit Amukwelele to stay 100 metres away from the victim.
On the issue of incomplete investigations, prosecutor Rowan van Wyk explained statements from Amukwelele’s landlord and son are pending. “The statements of these two people are very vital as they were present on the morning of the alleged incident. We have not yet also obtained DNA results as the lab is closed due to Covid-19,” said Van Wyk.
Van Wyk reiterated the two witnesses are known by Amukwelele, thus the State fears that he will interfere with investigations should he be released on bail. Amukwelele was arrested on 8 April on a charge of rape for allegedly raping a woman on 11 January at his home in Rocky Crest. Throughout the hearing, Amukwelele denied any wrongdoing pertaining to the events of the morning of 11 January. He testified that he does not deny that the victim was at his place on 10 to 11 January and they had sex. He however, claims that he did not force himself on the victim as she has claimed. He maintained they had consensual sex.