Two judges of the Oshakati High Court on Monday dismissed an appeal by rape convict and northern businessman Sindano Hango against his 15-year sentence.

He had initially been acquitted of the 2014 rape of a family member at the end of his trial in the Regional Court. On appeal by the State, Hango was then convicted by the High Court in February 2021. 

Not satisfied with the High Court’s decision, he then appealed his case in the Supreme Court. But in October 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision to convict Hango of rape.

The Supreme Court ordered that the matter be remitted back to the Regional Court for sentencing. 

Consequently, in February last year, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. 

High Court Judges Johanna Salionga and Eduard Kesslau found that the Regional Court magistrate who sentenced Hango was correct when he found no substantial and compelling circumstances exists. In such an event, Judge Salionga - who wrote the concurring judgment - said that an appeal court cannot interfere with the sentence. She said it is trite law that a court of appeal will be entitled to interfere on appeal only where the trial court had materially misdirected itself on the facts or law or committed an irregularity, or where the sentence imposed was startlingly inappropriate or induced a sense of shock, or was such that a striking disparity exists between the sentence imposed by the trial court and that which the court of appeal would have imposed had it sat as the court of first instance. 

With this in mind, Judge Salionga said, the appellant’s contention that the magistrate committed a patent error is without merit. “The magistrate exercised his jurisdiction judiciously, and was justified in his finding that there werer no substantial and compelling circumstances when he imposed the minimum prescribed sentence of 15 years in terms of the Rape Act”. In the end, the appeal judges struck the appeal from the roll and deemed it finalised.   

The case has been clouded with controversy, with Hango being accused of bribing the complainant with N$10 000 to allegedly withdraw the initial rape charge.

The court heard that Hango sent family members to talk her into withdrawing the case in exchange for that amount.

The initial investigating officer also tried to talk the woman into withdrawing the case.

It has been the victim’s testimony that Hango forced himself onto her by holding her arms to the back, while one hand forcefully removed her jeans and underpants.

During the scuffle, the victim says she fell to the floor and then fled to her room, where the convict followed her, threw her on the bed, and forcefully penetrated her.

The victim at the time also told the court that she informed several family members about the rape.

However, some attempted to talk her out of registering a case, while others advised her to pursue it.

Oshakati Regional Court magistrate Leopold Hangalo said at the time of acquitting Hango that after considering the evidence presented in court, he was not convinced that a rape was committed.

Hango had maintained in his own defence during the trial that the whole act was fabricated, and that it was the victim’s idea that he should give her money to take care of her personal needs.

In his appeal, he was represented by advocate Hettie Garbers-Kirsten, instructed by Jacobs Amupolo Lawyers and Conveyancers. 

The State’s case was handled by deputy prosecutor general Lucious Mutota.

-rrouth@nepc.com.na