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Home / Mother ‘disowns’ daughter for accusing stepdad of rape
Mother ‘disowns’ daughter for accusing stepdad of rape
2017-09-20Staff Report 2 Loide Jason Okalongo-It was high drama at Onandjaba-B village, where a mother pleaded with her daughter to withdraw a case of rape against her stepfather, who had reportedly raped her since she was 14 years old. The police finally swooped in to arrest the 59-year-old Okalongo businessman, who has until Monday been getting away with the evil act, with the police saying there was very little they can do as the victims’ mother refused to corroborate the rape allegations against her husband. “Why did you report the person that has been taken care of you since when you were young? He has been supporting you all along,” the mother cried in front of the police, Constituency Councillor Laurentius Iipinge and the media that accompanied the police to the homestead. The mother told her daughter that for taking advice from the police, she was now disowned and without a mother, and when her mother dies the daughter should not attend the memorial service. However, that did not deter the police, which opened the criminal case. “Everything has a beginning and an end. Let us go home and talk to your [step]father, he will understand and it will end here,” the woman said to the daughter, who is now 17 years old. The mother also insisted that the girl go and talk to her stepfather to find an amicable solution other than arrest, but the police at the scene brushed aside the suggestion, saying it was not possible to reach a solution, because of the sensitivity of the matter. The girl has moved since in with her grandmother after opening a police case against her stepfather. Earlier in the day, when the girl arrived at her grandmother’s house from school, she had found both her mother and stepfather waiting for her, who then tried to coax the girl to withdraw the rape charges, with the mother asking the child to forgive her rapist, her stepfather. The man previously worked as a police officer and then as a teacher, before going into business. He is expected to appear in the Outapi Magistrate’s Court today. The victim also opened up to New Era, speaking of her frustration with the family, including her mother and aunt, who have seemingly allowed the man to violate the girl for so many years. “I have written letters to my mother several times, explaining the whole issue, but she is not acting. It has been paining me, because the man sleeps with me on daily basis,” she narrated. She further explained that the man used to take her to a lodge in Ruacana, to Oshakati and to a classroom at a certain school in Okalongo. The victim said the times when she was injured the stepfather bought her medicine from the pharmacy to apply, following the rape. The man is alleged to have enticed the girl with money, ranging between N$200 and N$150 at a time, as well as a cellphone, which he did not give to her. The man, who was seated quietly and eating crackers while waiting on the mother to convince the child to withdraw the case, later asked the police to explain to him what law he violated and the charges against him. He also asked the police to tell him who opened the case against him and if there were any witnesses, before walking to the police van. 2017-09-20Staff Report 2
