Two police officers who were summoned to the scene of an alleged rape incident in 2018 involving a father and his biological daughter at Khorixas, testified this week.
The suspect is also accused of murdering his former girlfriend and mother of his three children to prevent her from testifying in the rape allegation against him.
The officers testified before Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen on Monday.
Detective warrant officer Upini Usiko told the judge that he and a colleague from the gender violence unit were summoned to a house in Khorixas on a rape allegation during the early morning hours of 7 July 2018. When they arrived, he saw two men grappling on the ground, and he went to separate them.
He said he managed to get hold of the man who was on top of the other, and dragged him away. However, the man managed to free himself and ran into a nearby house. The other man who was on the ground then also managed to free himself and ran away from the scene, the officer testified.
He could not identify any of the men, as it was early morning hours and still dark.
Meanwhile, detective warrant officer Izelda Awases testified that she was at home when she received a call about a suspected rape.
As she was the gender violence officer on duty, she attended the scene. She further said that
when she and her colleague (Usiku) arrived at the scene, she observed several people standing around two men who were wrestling on the ground. The officer told the court that she went to where the victim and her mother were, while her colleague went to assist the other people to separate the wrestlers. She was then told by the mother of the victim that it was the father of the victim who raped her.
While she was talking to the victim and her mother, the accused ran away, and she proceeded to take the victim to the hospital for a rape examination, the officer testified. She further told the court that the rape examination was done; and she handed the sealed rape kit to the scene of crime officer.
According to her, she and her colleagues continued to search for the accused but could not find him. His Legal Aid lawyer, Petrus Grusshaber, during cross-examination, told the witness that the accused claims he ran away to his mother’s house to enquire from her about an alleged rape incident that happened at her house.
Awases only said they looked for him and could not find him. However, she said, on a Monday morning, she received a call that the accused handed himself over. When she arrived at the police station, she informed him that a rape charge was registered against him, and advised him of his rights. According to her, the accused was calm and normal, and indicated that he understood his rights.
The man, who may not be identified to protect the identity of the rape victim, is also facing a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act of 2003, in connection with the death of the mother of the victim, who succumbed to a single stab wound to the right side of her neck. Advocate Palmer Kumalo is representing the State, and the matter continues today. Khamseb remains in custody.
-rrouth@nepc.com.na