2018-01-31Staff Report 2 Roland Routh Windhoek-An appeal against a rape conviction by a former Otjiwarongo-based cop was dismissed last week in the Windhoek High Court by Judge Nate Ndauendapo in agreement with Judge Dinah Usiku. The former cop, Andreas Lumayi Eino was convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with one year wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition he is not convicted of rape during the period of suspension; on a charge of rape in the Grootfontein Regional Court on March 13, 2015. He appealed against both the conviction and sentence. He claimed the magistrate erred in finding that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he had indeed inserted his private parts into the private parts of the complainant, that the evidence of State witnesses was riddled with material multiple contradictions, and the magistrate erred when admitting the contradictory evidence of the doctor who performed the examination of the complainant. According to the complainant who may not be identified, she went to the accused’s room after receiving a text message from him and when she arrived there, he locked the door, pushed her onto the bed, removed her trousers and underwear until her knees and proceeded to rape her. She testified the whole encounter lasted for about 10 minutes and that Eino stopped when she started to cry. She further said that Eino then pushed her out of the room and she went to her sister’s room where she narrated the ordeal to her sister through text messages as she could not speak due to the trauma. Her sister who was also a State witness confirmed this in her testimony. The complainant further said that she then changed her clothes except for her underwear before being taken to Otjiwarongo State Hospital for a medical check-up approximately eight hours after the incident. In his defence, Eino denied that he raped the complainant. He testified that on March 28, 2013 when the incident occurred, he was seated outside his room at the police barracks and the complainant came to him and asked whether he was cooking to which he replied that he was lazy and she said she was cooking porridge. After a while she left and some hours later he texted her ‘come’ and she replied ‘where’ and then she came to his room with a plate of porridge. After he ate the porridge, he watched some TV and fell asleep. When he woke up again he saw the complainant standing next to his bed. She then asked him for his phone and he told her it was charging and she asked him why he did not send her credit during the day as she requested. He then told her that he needed the credit himself and she took his phone and returned it after 10 to 20 minutes. According to Eino he then grabbed the phone from her and in the process touched her breast and she then said: ‘Eino, you touched my breast, that is sexual harassment and I can open a case against you’, after which she left. He then locked his room and slept, Eino stated. The judge however found that there was evidence from the doctor that there was a recent perforation and the hymen of the complainant was destroyed. This, Judge Ndauendapo noted, was evidence that the complainant was truthful that she was a virgin and corroborated her evidence she was raped. He dismissed the claims of Eino and found the trial court was correct in convicting him. The State was represented by State Advocate Dominic Lisulo and Eino by Ricardo Mukonda. 2018-01-31Staff Report 2
