Serial rapist Gavin Gawanab has been sentenced to an accumulative 57 years and three months in prison for a string of rapes, attempted rapes, and assaults on young women and children, Windhoek High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku ruled yesterday.
Judge Usiku said, “Long custodial sentences under these circumstances would not be shockingly inappropriate, as this court needs to send the right message that crimes of rape will be dealt with harshly, and offenders must expect to be dealt with accordingly.”
Gawanab, who terrorised young girls until his arrest in 2018, was convicted on 14 of the 23 counts he faced. He faced charges including the rape of minors, attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, kidnapping, housebreaking with intent to rape, indecent assault, and crimen injuria.
His crime spree began in December 2012 and culminated in the brutal rape of a nine-year-old girl, during which he mutilated her genitals. At the time of this attack, Gawanab was out on bail for previous charges.
At the start of his trial, Gawanab pleaded not guilty to all charges, placing the onus on the State to prove each allegation.
Judge Usiku described his offences as “very serious, the majority committed under coercive circumstances, often involving the use of a knife or other weapon to assault and subdue his victims.”
She called the attack on the nine-year-old “heinous, barbaric and the grossest, unimaginable form of brutality on any person, even more so a child.”
The accused did not testify in mitigation, leaving his lawyer to present arguments, acknowledging that custodial sentences were unavoidable. Although a first-time offender, Gawanab showed no remorse, leaving the court with no compelling reason to deviate from the mandatory sentences prescribed in the Criminal Procedure Act and the Rape Act.
Judge Usiku stressed, “It is clear that the accused considered himself above the law and committed these crimes freely and openly, with no respect for the law or anyone’s rights.
This is not a case where the accused should walk away with a minor slap on the wrist.”
In her ruling, Judge Usiku sentenced Gawanab to 20 years for the rape of the nine-year-old girl, 15 years for the rape of a seven-year-old, and 15 years for the rape of another young woman.
He was also sentenced to five years for each attempted rape conviction, three months for each common assault conviction, and two years for the kidnapping convictions.
Additionally, he received two years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and three months for a count of crimen injuria.
The judge ordered that the sentences on the common assault and kidnapping counts run concurrently, as well as the sentences on the attempted rape counts.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na