A former police officer was sentenced to an effective 25-year imprisonment term by the Windhoek High Court yesterday for raping his then 15-year-old biological daughter.

Judge Claudia Claasen sentenced the 54-year-old man, who may not be identified to protect the identity of the victim, to 18 years’ imprisonment on the rape conviction and seven years on the incest charge. 

Claasen described rape as one of the most atrocious, degrading, and invasive acts that one human being can commit against another and continued: “Along with the other forms of sexual assault, it resorts under a category of violations against a person that cannot ever be fully addressed no matter what sentence a court imposes”.

She added that society demands that the scourge of gender-based violence and child abuse be addressed and stopped. 

“Children’s rights are constitutionally protected, and the rape of a child is, by its nature, one of the worst kinds of offences conceivable and as such, the court has to impose sentences that match the gravity and prevalence of the offences committed,” the judge emphasised. 

She further said in respect of the incest count, the court finds it particularly aggravating that he not only exploited the complainant’s love and trust, but she fell pregnant as a result of the abuse and had to endure the humiliation and pain and having the pregnancy terminated. The judge further noted the accused offered very little in mitigation and the court has struggled to identify any factors that, either individually or cumulatively, could be said to constitute substantial and compelling circumstances. 

According to the judge, the court is in the dark as to why the accused, a former police officer, had no regard for the laws or the wellbeing of his child. 

She said he has not expressed an iota of remorse which is indicative that there is no form of accountability for his nefarious deeds. The judge said it is apparent that the accused is a person whose conscience is inconsistent with the standards of society. 

This, she said, emanated from various instances during the trial where evidence is indicative of the blurring of boundaries between the accused and his children. “It is not expected that a parent gives his or her child alcohol, yet he has done so. He also insisted that, in his household, it was normal for his teenage daughters to sleep in his bed, something that was continuously practiced,” the judge remarked. 

She continued: “In his own version of the Oshikango incident, he bought alcohol for the complainant, which confirms his unorthodox parental techniques.”

She went on to say that children are supposed to look at the parents for guidance and protection, but in this case, the father had unscrupulously turned the tables on the complainant. 

“Instead of protecting the complainant, the accused violated the sanctity of his daughter and his actions inflicted far-reaching consequences and irreparable harm. The complainant will for the rest of her life have to battle the stigmatisation, psychological, and emotional wounds,” said Claasen stressed. 

In the end, she said the personal circumstances recede and are outweighed, and deterrence and retribution must be the deciding factors in deciding on a just punishment.  

The accused was represented by Joseph Andreas on instructions of Legal Aid and the State by Palmer Khumalo.

– rrouth@nepc.com.na