2015-02-06Staff Report 2 By Helvy Shaanika ONGWEDIVA - The State has opened a case in an incident where a female security guard was allegedly raped, assaulted and robbed on the premises of the Oshakati hospital. The woman, who is currently hospitalised for injuries sustained in the ordeal, and shock, was allegedly lured to Oshakati hospital by three men employed by a company responsible for the hospital’s sewerage pump. Based on the statements taken, the victim met the three men near the hospital while on her way from work. One of them asked to buy an airtime recharge voucher from her. When she told them that she had no change for the money that he had, the men begged her to go with them to their duty makeshift room within the hospital yard. While on the way, they asked her if she could cook for them, which she agreed to, and by the time they arrived at their duty room the woman allegedly told them that she wanted to wash her uniform there. Two brothers employed by the same company then decided to go to the shops to buy washing powder, leaving the victim with their colleague, who is now the suspect. When they returned, they found the victim’s pants and underwear stripped off, while wrestling with the suspect who was stark naked. Before slipping into the state of shock she currently is in, the victim allegedly told the nurses that the suspect locked her up in the room and told her that he was going to make her pregnant. When she refused, he punched her several times with fists before stripping her clothes off and raping her. When he finished, she wanted to escape but he punched her, strangled her and threatened her with a knife and raped her once more. She later managed to grab the knife. When the two brothers returned from the shops, they also found her holding the knife in her hands. Some of the hospital staff members are, however, unhappy with the way the police are allegedly handling the case. A medical staff member told New Era that police officers at Oshakati Police Station refused to open a rape case and gave her a letter stating that she was assaulted. The victim took the letter to the hospital where she was treated for ear injuries. One of her eardrums allegedly ruptured, as a result of the assault. Police Public Relations Officer, Slogan Mathews, however refuted all allegations made by hospital staff members maintaining that initially the victim only complained about assault and not rape. “On Tuesday evening, when she went to the police station, she complained of being assaulted. She was then given a J88 - which is a medical form - to go to the doctor. She was then asked to return after she had seen the doctor to open the case. That is the procedure... “She returned to the police station on Wednesday and that was only when she told the police that she was raped,” explained Mathews. When the victim told the police about the rape, officials from the Women and Child Protection Unit were then called to escort her to the hospital. At first, the woman allegedly refused to go for an HIV test, which is a basic medical procedure when handling rape cases. When she later agreed to it, nurses were allegedly surprised to discover that she had removed part of the page, which had her HIV test results. The nurses allegedly took her back to the Women and Child Protection Unit to enquire about the torn page but while there she started complaining of not being well and unable to walk. She was then hospitalised. 2015-02-06Staff Report 2
