Despite allegedly committing his latest crimes while on bail, serial rapist Gavin Gawanab wants the court to release him, pending the finalisation of his trial in the Windhoek High Court.
His bail application commenced on Friday in the high court before Judge Herman January.
Gawanab is facing 23 counts, including rape of minors, attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, assault, attempted rape, alternatively indecent assault, kidnapping, housebreaking with intent to rape and rape, as well as crimen injuria.
He claims he is innocent of the crimes he is accused of and says it is all a witch-hunt against him.
Several witnesses already testified, including the sisters of Gawanab, who all positively identified him as the culprit.
The State fears he might abscond if granted bail and that he may interfere with State witnesses who have not testified yet, as he knows them all.
Gawanab denied that he knows any of the State witnesses besides his sisters who already testified against him.
He further said he did not rape his sister’s daughter and exclaimed: “I cannot do such a thing to my sister’s daughter”.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of his trial and put the onus on the State to prove each and every allegation against him.
His crime spree of allegedly sexually assaulting under-aged girls started in December 2012 until he was arrested in November 2018 after he allegedly raped a 10-year old girl and cut her genitals open.
The State is opposing the bail application.
According to deputy prosecutor general Innocencia Nyoni, there is a genuine fear that Gawanab will re-offend if he is released on bail, as there is a precedence.
With regards to the charge that he stabbed some of his alleged victims with a knife, he told the court “Ever since my birth, I never stabbed someone”.
He also said that he was never convicted of any of the allegations he faced and faithfully attended all his court sessions until his arrest on the latest charge in 2018.
On this charge, it is alleged, he cut open the genitals of the minor girl when he could not penetrate.
He was on bail on the previous charges when he pounced on his latest victim.
The bail application continues on 12 May and Gawanab remains in custody.
He is represented by Mbanga Siyomunji on instructions of Legal Aid.