Omuthiya
Former soccer star Mohammed ‘Slice’ Ouseb, who faces several charges of rape, was granted bail of N$2 000 in the Tsumeb Magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
A formal bail application began last Friday and he was released on bail on Tuesday on condition he not leave the Tsumeb district and not contact the victim or other state witnesses.
He is due to appear again in court on October 21, to allow for further police investigations.
Ouseb was arrested on allegations he on several occasions raped an 18-year-old schoolgirl.
The 42-year-old Ouseb, a former KickOff footballer of the year, was arrested last month when he handed himself to the police after being on the run for a week.
It is alleged that Ouseb was caught red-handed by the victim’s grandmother while having sexual intercourse with the schoolgirl in Nomtousob.
According to the police report, during the course of last year the accused allegedly offered the victim some unidentified brown powder to sniff from a bottle, which caused her to lose consciousness.
It is alleged the former footballer, who also played for Lyn Oslo in Norway, then had sexual intercourse with the teen under coercive circumstances.
The last incident that led to his arrest is said to have happened last month (September 12) when the suspect allegedly dragged the victim into a toilet and had sex with her. The teen’s grandmother apparently caught him in the act, but the former defender fled the scene and went into hiding.
Ouseb was once an integral part of the national football team that rewrote the history books by recording the country’s first qualification for the African Cup of Nations in 1998.
It was after his noteworthy performance at the 1998 tournament in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, that South African glamour club Kaizer Chiefs snapped him up.
After a stint in Norway, Ouseb returned to South Africa, where he played for Moroka Swallows before returning to Namibia to see off his playing days at Orlando Pirates.
He started his football career with Tsumeb-based Chief Santos where he is now an assistant coach.
His case was heard by magistrate David Munsu and the state was represented by prosecutor Memory Harakuta. Ouseb had lawyer Chris van Sittert in his corner.