EENHANA – The Eenhana Regional Court on Friday sentenced a 30-year-old man to seven years imprisonment for raping a minor 14 years ago.

Nghidimbwa Indeni committed the rape when he was 16 years old. The victim was four years old at the time.

This incident occurred in 2010 at Eembidi village in the Ohangwena region.

The victim was a neighbour of the accused at the time. However, Indeni was initially released on a warning, as he was still a juvenile.

The victim, now 18 years old, however, has no recollection of the rape.

During the court session last week, the victim’s mother narrated that the incident happened while she was working in the field.

“I heard the sound of my daughter crying. The sound was very disturbing as if she was bitten by something. I continued cultivating, but the child was still crying,” she recalls.

She added that this sound prompted her to rush to her daughter, who was crying non-stop. 

She continued narrating that when she arrived in their hut, she found Indeni covering himself with a blanket on top of her daughter.

“I rushed to the Ondobe police station to report the matter,” she said.

The mother then rushed the toddler to the hospital after establishing that her underwear was wet.

“The child was examined, and the doctors noticed bruises around my daughter’s vagina,” she added.

While testifying in court, Indeni denied raping the victim, saying he was instead just scaring the kids, as he was donned in an Oshiwambo dress, and “that’s why the kids were crying”.

The State was represented by prosecutor Elina Hashipara, while the magistrate was Ruben Mutuku.

-  fhamalwa@nepc.com.na