KEETMANSHOOP – Police in Karasburg have arrested a 39-year-old man for the alleged assault and rape of a blind 90-year-old woman – who can not be identified on ethical grounds.
The alleged brutal rape and barbaric battery of the nonagenarian took place at Gabis in the //Karas Region on Saturday at around 22h00.
//Karas Regional Commander Armas Shivute who confirmed the incident said the victim was carried out of her shack by the suspect, a certain Freyer who initially assaulted the victim before raping her.
Warrant-Officer Ellen Beukes of the Karasburg police said the old lady sustained slight bruises on her face and was unable to recall full details.
“She is still in hospital and very nervous, and because of her age she is unable to tell us exactly what happened. Police were called by someone on the reserve who told us that they saw Freyer with bloodstained clothes near the old lady’s shack,” Beukes explained.
In a separate incident, a 42-year-old Bethanie woman was severely assaulted with fists and stones by her ex-boyfriend on Friday.
Relating her ordeal from the Keetmanshoop hospital, Mina Boois said her ex-lover had subjected her to regular assaults since they started dating in 2012.
The accused came to her house on Friday with his friend with whom he argued after he broke the friend’s identification document (ID).
“When I told the friend that it was he (Freyer) who broke the ID, he became angry and left with his friend. He later returned and started accusing me of breaking the ID, putting the blame on me,” she said .
“Then he started beating me with his fists but I hit him back and when he saw that I was about to beat him up he started pulling me out of the room to where the stones were. He started beating me with the stones and his fists. The old lady who stays next to us was sitting in her wheelchair and could do nothing except scream for people to come and help,” she related.
Boois said she broke off the relationship with her ex-boyfriend last year but he always used the excuse of wanting to visit their child to be near her.
“Even that baby suffered at his hands. When the baby was three months he threw the baby on the ground and then when the child was seven months he also threw him on the ground. Now my child cannot walk. He really wants to walk but is having trouble with his one thigh. I have laid several complaints with the police but nothing comes of it. They told me that they will hand my case over to a social worker but I am still waiting,” narratted a teary-eyed Boois.
By Jemima Beukes