WINDHOEK – The Windhoek Regional Court acquitted a 35-year-old man who was on trial for allegedly raping a minor six years ago in Samstaan location in Windhoek.
Immanuel Maru, 35, was on trial on a charge of rape for allegedly sexually violating a minor girl who was at the time four years old. However, Magistrate Elina Nandago yesterday found Maru not guilty and acquitted him of rape due to lack of evidence.
According to the court, the case was poorly investigated. Magistrate Nandago noted that the victim’s DNA swabs and that of the accused were never taken for examination.
“The accused was known and available. If his DNA and swabs from the victim were taken then this court would have better evidence of who raped this child,” said Magistrate Nandago while handing down judgment.
The court further noted that the investigating officer failed to investigate the whereabouts of the accused on the date in question, leaving the court to rely on witnesses who were not present during the time the act was carried out.
Nandago strongly pointed out that the evidence presented in court indicates that the child was indeed raped but the state failed to prove who the culprit is. Medical reports state that the victim’s genital swabs were bloody and the labia minora was red which indicates sexual assault.
It is true the child was raped but there is no clear answer of who really raped this poor child. I therefore give the benefit of the doubt to the accused. I find him not guilty and thus acquit him.”
According to the child’s testimony, she and her friend were looking for her mother but they later parted ways. As she was walking back home, she was grabbed by the accused, who then dragged her into his shack.
The accused allegedly locked the door and raped her.
The victim testified that the accused only let her go because she started screaming. The victim further testified that she was bleeding when she left the accused’s shack, blood which her grandmother noticed when she finally got home.
The accused who maintained his innocence through out the trial denied sexually violating the minor.
It is the accused testimony that he was at work when the child was raped. In his defense, the victim must have hurt herself and was told by her grandmother to implicate him.