A resident of Otjimbingwe in the Erongo region yesterday vehemently denied he raped and/or assaulted or threatened three girls he is accused of violating.

Jackson Katjombe (36) told Windhoek High Court Judge Herman January he never touched two of the complainants, but that he was in an intimate romantic relationship with another one of them.

It is alleged Katjombe (36) raped the complainants between January and September 2018 at a farm in the Otjimbingwe area.

It is further alleged he physically assaulted his victims and threatened to kill them should they report the alleged rapes to anyone.

Katjombe pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape alternatively contravening the Combating of Immoral Practices Act, three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and three counts of assault by threat at the start of his trial last year.

One of the complainants is a 29-year-old with a disability and has the mental capacity of a six-year-old child. 

She also cannot walk but crawls to get around. 

The complainant can also not use her arms.

 She is dependent on her siblings for her care. 

The other is an eight-year-old. 

A doctor already testified he examined the eight-year-old, and that he found that her hymen is intact and that she has not had any sexual intercourse.

The accused further claimed he was in an intimate relationship with the 14-year-old complainant for about three months before the complainants relocated to Windhoek.

According to Katjombe, he will call a witness, a female friend of the 14-year-old, who will testify they were in a consensual sexual relationship. 

He said the friend usually came to sleep over at the residence shared between the 14-year-old and her siblings when she is left alone at their farm by her two brothers, as she is afraid. 

It is expected that she will testify today.   

Previously, his legal aid instructed lawyer Tjingairi Kaurivi told the complainants during cross-examination that they were spoon-fed as to what to say in court, and that it was all lies.

He further told the girls they were indoctrinated by their sisters for the last few years on what to say in court. 

Kaurivi further told the court it could have been another person, well known in the area for being HIV positive and using medicine, who had sexual relations with the 29-year-old and also infected her. 

He provided the medical passport of Katjombe, which indicated he was tested twice for HIV, and the results were negative.

 As such, he could not have infected her.

Katjombe remains in custody. 

The State is represented by Timo Itula.

- rrouth@nepc.com.na