ONGWEDIVA – The family of seven-year-old girl from Onailonga village in Ohangwena Region is devastated after the young girl was sexually molested allegedly by a fellow learner while on her way home from school.
Although the grandmother of the child has reported the matter to the police, family members are not sure if police officers at Ohangwena where the case was reported have indeed opened a case or not.
They allege the police have not been forthcoming to tell them about the progress of the case that was reported on January 13, 2019.
Sergeant Andreas Nghiyalwa of Ohangwena Police Public Relation’s Division could also not tell if a case of rape was opened or not, maintaining that the police officer responsible for the case was waiting for the parents of both the suspect and victim by yesterday.
According to a family member, the girl who is a Grade One learner at Onailonga Primary School was on her way from school alone when a 14-year-old boy who is in a senior grade at the same school attacked her.
“He apparently threatened to kill her with a stick should she refuse to obey him. She tried to run away but he tackled her by the ankle causing her to stumbled and fall. He then dragged her in the bush, undressed her and raped her,” explained one of the family members. The girl told her grandmother about the incident after two days when she noticed that she was crying and seemed to be in pain. She was only taken to the hospital on a third day, and that was when the incident was eventually reported to the school and the police. Her medical report show that the doctor indeed suspected that the girl was raped as there are injuries to her private parts.
Initially when he was questioned by the teachers at school, the boy who was identified by the girl as the rapist had allegedly acknowledged that he was the one responsible of the heinous crime.
“But when he was asked to bring his parents to school the following day, he denied everything claiming that he was intimidated by the teachers. But on the day of the rape incident, one of the teachers also saw him running from the direction where the rape took place.
“We don’t know if his family advised him to deny because his initial confession matched the girl’s version,” said one of the family members. Although the girl apparently seems to be quite then usual and complains of headaches every now and then, her aunt said she has not yet received any professional help.