A northern-based optics manager accused of raping an 18-year-old girl has formally applied to be released on bail in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.

Andimba Toivo Kapia (32) is pleading to be released on bail of N$10 000 after he was arrested on a charge of rape on 10 March in Windhoek. 

The State is objecting to the granting of bail. Testifying yesterday in court, Kapia denied the rape charges levelled against him, saying the sexual act between him and the complainant on 1 January was consensual. 

He testified on New Year’s Eve while in Windhoek, he asked his friend to “organise” some girls for him. He explained the purpose of his request was to have sexual intercourse with the girls. The friend complied with his request and called the complainant’s sister.  

The two conversed over the phone. The sister allegedly requested Kapia to pay N$800 for the act. However, Kapia indicated he could only afford N$400, which the victim agreed to. 

Having sealed the agreement, Kapia and his friend went to pick up the two sisters at around 01h00 on 1 January from the vicinity of Wanaheda in Katutura. When they got to his parent’s residence in Hochland Park, Kapia’s friend left the house.  

“When we got to the house, I asked the complainant if she was aware of the proposition that was communicated to her and she said ‘yes’,” Kapia claimed. He then instructed her to go to his bedroom, leaving the sister in the living room.  “When I entered the room, we started making out (kissing) and we ended up having sex,” said Kapia. After the act, the complainant requested for her payment, which Kapia could not give as the money in his bedside drawer had disappeared. 

He then informed the complainant that he would find a way to pay her. He apparently left the room and the complainant went to the toilet where she started crying. 

“[Her sister] came to ask me what I had done to the sister because she told her I had raped her. I was very shocked by the accusation. We then got into an argument,” narrated Kapia. During the argument, she insisted he had raped her sister and she took a video of the altercation. 

While arguing, the complainant’s family arrived at his residence. “I was then contacted by the police the following day to go give a statement,” he said. According to constable Jasmine van Wyk from the Gender-Based Violence Protection Unit, the State has a strong case against Kapia. 

“The suspect does not dispute that he had sex with the complainant and medical reports indicate there was forceful penetration, which indicates that it was not consensual,” explained Van Wyk. She narrated the victim and the sister were hanging out at the suspect’s residence. 

The complainant apparently had a few drinks, started feeling drowsy and requested to lay down. Van Wyk said, according to the complainant, she woke up to Kapia undressing her pants and then proceeded to rape her.  She claimed the complainant attempted to commit suicide as a result of the incident. 

According to Van Wyk, although the incident took place on 1 January, the police could only arrest Kapia on 10 March as they were waiting on the prosecutor general’s instruction on the way forward. The complainant’s mother, who was also in attendance at the court, said the incident has gravely affected her daughter who is currently studying in South Africa. 

“My daughter tried to commit suicide and has been in a psychiatric ward for 21 days,” said the complainant’s mother. On the date in question, the complainant called her mother informing her that they are locked in a house in Hochland Park. 

The complainant’s mother traced the complainant’s phone and managed to locate her. They showed up at the house and the police showed up momentarily. She indicated Kapia was not found at the house as he jumped through the window and later the wall. 

The complainant’s mother said she does not want Kapia to be granted bail. “This incident has not only affected my daughter but everyone around her. If the court grants bail, I do not know what our justice has come to,” said the complainant’s mother.  The bail hearing is ongoing. 

*The identities of the complainant, her mother, and her sister cannot be revealed to protect the complainant. 

-mamakali@nepc.com.na