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D-day beckons for incest accused

Home National D-day beckons for incest accused
D-day beckons for incest accused

A Windhoek resident, accused of raping his biological daughter several times and forcing her to abort the foetus after impregnating her, has closed his case in the Windhoek High Court.

This came after the man, who is known to this publication but cannot be identified to protect the identity of the victim, could not secure the testimony of his other daughter to refute the allegations against him. 

Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen refused to give the accused more time to convince the girl, who seems reluctant to testify on her father’s behalf.

Even the threats of court summons could not sway the daughter to come and testify in open court.

After failing to secure the witness, the man opted to close his case, and Judge Claasen remanded the matter to 15 July for submissions on the verdict.

The accused is currently on warning in the rape case after the magistrate’s court struck his matter off the roll for a lack of the prosecutor general (PG)’s decision.

The State, however, later got their ducks in a row, and resummoned him to stand trial after the PG decided he must stand trial in the High Court.

The man pleaded not guilty to several counts of rape, incest, sodomy and inducement of abortion before Judge Claasen at the genesis of his trial.

He faces two counts of rape, or alternatively incest; three counts of child trafficking; and two counts of assault by threat.

The State is alleging the accused repeatedly raped his biological daughter, impregnated her, and then instructed her to have an abortion under duress.

The abortion allegedly took place when the victim accompanied him during one of his various trips to Angola between 2010 and 2011.

The alleged rapes were also perpetrated while the victim accompanied the accused on his trips, and once during a family holiday in Swakopmund.

The judge dismissed a Section 174 application by the accused to be released after the close of the State’s case, saying he has a case to answer.

After his arrest, the accused undertook a lengthy bail application, which eventually saw him released on bail in July 2014. 

It was during his release from custody that he allegedly carried out a daylight robbery, and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, of which five years were suspended, but it was later overturned on appeal.

During the bail application, it was alleged in court that he made his daughter his wife – and the accused, himself, during cross-examination questioned whether the victim was his biological child.

The prosecution is represented by Palmer Khumalo, while the accused is represented by Joseph Andreas on the instructions of Legal Aid.

– rrouth@nepc.com.na