Windhoek
Conflicting instructions on how to deal with the contents of a DNA report resulted in the lawyer of a man, who allegedly terrorised three schoolgirls on their way home from school in September 2010, withdrawing from the case on mutual agreement.
Khadila Amoomo was instructed by the Department of Legal Aid to defend for Rudolf Goagoseb in his trial that was due to start yesterday in the Windhoek High Court before Acting Judge Boas Usiku, who was appointed as an acting judge of the High Court from yesterday until December 2.
The matter was set down to run until September 30.
Amoomo informed Acting Judge Usiku that he wishes to withdraw from the trial with the mutual consent of the accused and that he has already informed Legal Aid and they indicated that they would instruct a new legal representative immediately.
State Advocate Palmer Khumalo on behalf of the State had no objection to Amoomo’s withdrawal and asked the court to postpone the matter to Thursday to give the new lawyer a chance to consult with Goagoseb.
A horde of people, who wished to attend the matter, including several State witnesses, had to return home disappointed when the matter did not commence.
The State alleges Goagoseb threatened the girls – who may not be named to protect their identity – with a broken bottle along a footpath in the bush near Okahandja on September 29, 2010. He then ordered them to undress and proceeded to put his privates into the mouths of the three girls, the indictment reads.
He then ordered one of the girls to lie down on her back and violated the young girl, it is stated. When he was done with her he allegedly pulled one of the other girls and struck her with a clenched fist on the cheek and forced her to lie down on her back and began to suffocate her and twist her neck.
He then again forced the first girl to lie down on her back and raped her for the second time. He also struck the third girl on her chest with a clenched fist. While he was busy violating the first girl for the second time, the other two girls managed to escape and alerted members of the community, who then apprehended him.
The incident sent shockwaves through not only the garden town of Okahandja at the time, but throughout the country, with calls for the culprit to be castrated.
Goagoseb now faces five counts of rape, two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and one count of attempted murder in the High Court. He previously appeared in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court, where he was released on warning as he was still under-age.
He is currently held in custody at Karibib on an unrelated offence.