Windhoek
Five men, between the ages of 25 and 32, were arraigned in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for the alleged gang rape and subsequent murder of a 48-year-old woman.
Friday a week ago the woman was allegedly gang-raped and strangled and her lifeless body hidden in the bushes by five men, who apparently committed the heinous crime at Uitkoms in the Hochfeld area in Otjozondjupa.
The deceased has been identified as Anna Kaukau and it is understood that on September 25 the suspects took turns to rape her, despite her constant screaming and pleading with them to stop, residents in the area reported. Her decomposed body was found in the bushes last Sunday, covered with a shawl she had draped over her shoulders.
On Thursday last week a number of Uitkoms residents, as well as family members and friends of Kaukau, marched to the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court petitioning the court not to grant the suspects bail.
“We plea to your good office that the suspects who did this should not be granted bail. It shocked our community that five men can rape someone and end up killing her like a goat. The suspects should rot in jail with maximum sentences and this should set as an example to other people not to do this,” read their petition.
A resident in the area, Erwin Katjiteo, told New Era that Kaukau, accompanied by her boyfriend, went out to have a bit of fun and relaxation on Friday September 25 with a donkey cart. He said when they arrived at their destination they parked their donkey cart under a tree close to the cuca shop where they had been drinking.
“She was drunk and went to sleep in the donkey cart. Three men drove the donkey cart two kilometers away and started raping her. She was screaming and two male onlookers with a bicycle came to see what was happening, but joined in raping her,” Katjiteo said.
“After raping her they strangled her and carried her body into the bushes close to the road and left her there. They covered her with the small blanket (shawl) she had on and drove the donkey cart back to where it was initially parked,” said Katjiteo.
Katjiteo alleged the three men, who took the donkey cart, had raped two women earlier that same evening. He said when the boyfriend came to get the donkey cart that Friday night he may have been drunk and drove back home without noticing his partner is not there.
“The following morning he realised that Kaukau was not around, but thought she had stayed behind as she knows people in that area,” he said. He continued with his work and drove back late afternoon around sunset to go and search for her again, but she was nowhere to be found.
Katjiteo said after failing to find her, the man drove back home on Sunday and on his way saw her lifeless body lying in the grass.
“He went back to the cuca shop where he was drinking [earlier] to alert the people. He was the number one suspect, but then later one of the suspects started acting distressed. He was not talking or drinking water and revealed to people at the farm that they had raped and killed Kaukau. The men were then arrested on Monday,” Katjiteo said.
GIRLFRIEND MURDERED
Meanwhile, a drunken 36-year-old man from Otjekondjo farm in Hochfeld slit his girlfriend’s throat with a traditional knife (omukonda), killing her instantly on Saturday evening, following an argument.
Namibia police spokesperson Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi said the murder took place in the couple’s bedroom. The deceased was identified as 23-year-old Ester Mathias. The couple has a one-year-old baby. Shikwambi said the suspect has since been arrested and police investigations into the matter continue. “It is alleged they had just returned from the north three days previously. Yesterday [Saturday] they were arguing over the lady’s phone after the man saw an incoming sms, prompting his cruel actions,” said Shikwambi.
BABY STABBED
At Blikkiesdorp location in Grootfontein a one-month-old baby was stabbed in the head by her drunken father, following an argument between the parents. The 36-year-old suspect was soon arrested and is expected to appear in court his week. The baby was admitted to Grootfontein Hospital and is said to be in a stable condition.