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Home / D-day for alleged serial rapist in three weeks
D-day for alleged serial rapist in three weeks
2018-03-07Staff Report 2 Roland Routh Windhoek-Judgement on the charges an alleged serial rapist faces in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Alfred Siboleka will be delivered on March 28, it was revealed by the judge today. Jan Rooinasie faces seven counts of rape, one count of abduction or alternatively kidnapping, one count of attempting to commit an immoral act with a child below the age of 16 years, three counts of crimen injuria, two counts of attempted murder and one count of indecent assault. It is alleged in the indictment that Rooinasie abducted a 13-year-old girl from her parent’s home in Katutura on May 25, 2007 with the purpose of raping her. It is further alleged that on March 2, 2010 he repeatedly raped a woman he enticed into helping him and his apparently pregnant girlfriend, after rendering her unconscious by strangling her. He allegedly also directed various obscenities at his victim. Rooinasie is also alleged to have fooled another young woman into following him into the bushes near the Katutura hospital, barely four days later on March 6, where he also strangled her rendering her unconscious and proceeded to rape her. And yet again, in the space of four days, Rooinasie allegedly managed to lure another young woman into the bushes with a cry for help with luggage. This time around he told the victim that there was a woman who was struggling with many bags and asked her to go and help carry the bags. The unsuspecting victim went with Rooinasie and when they arrived in a bushy area, he pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her if she did not do what he wanted, according to the indictment. As in the previous instances he strangled his victim until she fainted and raped her, it was stated. Deputy Prosecutor General Karin Esterhuizen asked the court to find Rooinasie guilty on all the charges and said the State fulfilled its obligation to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. According to Esterhuizen, the complainants in the charges pointed out Rooinasie as the perpetrator in court and all descriptions of him to the police were almost identical as he was described as a short light-skinned Nama man with tattoos. She further said it was during the day that Rooinasie carried out his attacks on the girls and they could see him very well. According to Mbanga Siyomunji, who appeared for Rooinasie on instructions from legal aid, the testimony of the first complainant was full of contradictions and inconsistencies. He said her testimony was a fabrication and must be rejected. According to Siyomunji, the girl was instructed by her mother to make up the rape after Rooinasie declined to be in a relationship with the girl’s mother. He further said the testimony of the girl’s aunt is hearsay since the girl’s mother is not there to corroborate it. The girl’s mother passed away. With regard to the other complainants, Siyomunji argued that their testimonies cannot be relied upon as it was riddled with inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Especially the third complainant whom he said showed no penetration after her medical examination. “No rape took place,” Siyomunji argued, adding the medical examination showed the girl was still a virgin. He asked the court to acquit Rooinasie on all the charges. 2018-03-07Staff Report 2
