The hopes of a kidnapping and rape convict to have his conviction overturned were dashed after the High Court dismissed his appeal.

Judges Herman January and Naomi Shivute dismissed Bradley Coleman’s (35) appeal against his conviction and sentence.

The reasons will be made available at a later stage.

Coleman is serving a 27-year sentence after he was convicted on two counts of rape and a charge of kidnapping for events that took place on 1 and 2 February 2019.

At the start of his trial, Coleman pleaded not guilty to the charges, but admitted to some of the allegations. 

He informed the court that he did what he did out of anger and frustration because the person whom he wanted to prepare a surprise for was not answering her telephone.

The victim informed the court during the trial that Coleman asked for her assistance to prepare a surprise party for a friend of theirs. He then picked her up on 1 February 2019 and drove to a guest house, where he booked a room.  

Once they were in the room, Coleman allegedly took a knife, ordered her to lie on the floor, and tied her wrists and ankles with cable ties. He also stuck adhesive tape over her mouth. 

He left the room for a while and upon his return, he removed the cable ties with which he had tied her up and the tape over her mouth, and they conversed. 

He again tied her up before he left the room to buy drinks. Upon his return, he told the victim that he was sexually deprived – and after that he raped her. 

She testified that she spent the night in the room, and Coleman raped her again the next morning. 

The victim managed to escape when she convinced Coleman that she had a dentist appointment that she could not miss. While at the dentist, she told an employee that she was being kept captive, and had been raped.

In his appeal, Coleman argued that Windhoek Regional Court magistrate Alexis Diergaardt erred in law when she convicted and sentenced him when there was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt of him having raped the victim. He added that the court over-emphasised the seriousness of the offence and the interest of society when she imposed a sentence of 27 years on him.

In his defence, he claimed he and the victim had consensual sex. - mamakali@nepc.com.na