The doctor who conducted the examination on a six-year-old girl that was allegedly raped by a Windhoek resident, who is accused of 23 offences of rape, attempted murder and various assaults testified on Monday in his trial.
Dr Ernest Kombo Bakashala told Windhoek High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku that the girl was brought to the hospital with pelvic vaginal bleeding caused by forceful penetration.
According to the doctor, it was reported to him and confirmed by the child that she was raped by her uncle. His examination confirmed that her private parts were inflamed and red and that she suffered a one centimetre tear on her private parts.
This he compared to a woman giving birth when her privates normally tears because of the force of the birth, but said this was the opposite as it was forceful entrance that caused the tear.
Furthermore, he said, her hymen was perforated which caused the bleeding in the first place.
Multiple rape accused Gavin Gawanab’s sister, testified that she saw him coming out of the room moments before she found their niece crying and bleeding from her privates.
According to the woman who may not be identified to protect the identity of the victim, she and her sisters, including the mother of the victim, were at the residence of their mother on 26 September 2015.
She further said that she and her sisters were at her house in Dollam where they had been enjoying themselves whereafter they went to her sister’s house in Havana.
They had their six-year-old niece with them, she said. According to her, they later decided to go and enjoy further and the mother of the victim wanted to take the child home. However, she said, the child did not want to leave and said she wanted to stay at her aunt’s place. She further informed the court that Gawanab who was sitting near them told the child’s mother “Ousie, you heard what the child said, let her be.” They then put the child in her sister’s room and went to Dollam, the witness said.
On their return, they saw Gawanab running out of the room where they had put the child and he was bare-chested and without shoes, the witness recounted and continued that when they went into the room, they found the little girl naked from the waist down and bleeding from her genitals. When they enquired from her what happened, the girl just sobbed: “It was uncle Gavin, it was uncle Gavin.”
Gawanab is facing 23 counts including rape of minors, attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, assault, attempted rape, alternatively indecent assault, kidnapping, housebreaking with intent to rape and rape as well as crimen injuria.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of his trial and put the onus on the State to prove each and every allegation against him.
His crime spree of allegedly sexually assaulting under-aged girls started in December 2012 until he was arrested in November 2018 after he allegedly raped a 10-year-old girl and cut open her genitals.
He was on bail on the previous charges when he pounced on his latest victim.
Gawanab is represented by Mbanga Siyomunji on instructions of legal aid and the State by deputy prosecutor general Innocencia Nyoni.
Pic: Gawanab
Caption