Iuze Mukube
Alloys Sipapo, who was convicted of abducting and raping a five-year-old girl, was last Friday sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He was also sentenced to one year for abduction, which was ordered to run concurrently with the 15-year rape sentence.
Handing down the sentence, regional magistrate Esme Molefe said although the accused did not succeed in his attempt, the act still warranted a prescribed sentence of at least 15 years imprisonment as accorded by the Combating of Rape Act.
Molefe said the accused attempted to rape the minor who was more than 14 years younger than him after he had also unlawfully detained her.
As a result, the court determined that there was insufficient justification to depart from the recommended sentence [CORA], despite the fact that the accused was a first-time offender.
Sipapo was charged with counts of abducting and raping a five-year-old girl in Okuryangava area of Windhoek on 30 December 2020.
Although denied guilt on both charges, he was convicted of the charges after a trial that began in June this year.
According to witness testimony, Sipapo lured the little girl to his room with an enticement of sweets while she was playing outside.
He proceeded to tell her not to be scared, locked the door, and undressed her before he took off his clothes as well.
An aunt of the complainant testified that she went looking for her niece after being told by her daughter that the girl was in Sipapo’s room. When she peeked into the room she spotted the victim’s sandals through the door after Sipapo had failed to respond when she called him asking about the girls whereabouts.
She then broke the door with an axe and found her niece lying under a blanket on the accused’s bed, while Sipapo was naked.
Even though Sipapo had other recollections of events, including that he was in the room with another woman having intercourse while the girl was in the sitting area behind his shack playing, the magistrate concluded that the girl’s version of events was more probable.
Molefe said the state had proved that Sipapo had abducted the girl and tried to rape her.
Representing Sipapo were defence lawyers Theo Carolus and Vernon Lutibezi, while the state was represented by public prosecutor Emma Mayavero.