Serial child rapist to serve 78 years A case of child rape where the rapist lured his victim with the promise of food came to a dramatic close at the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court last week when he was sentenced to 60 years behind bars following a guilty verdict on three counts.Sagaria Gowaseb is already serving an 18-year sentence for the rape of an 11-year old girl in Kamanjab in 2011, bringing his total jail sentence to 78 years for the rape of two minors.
Last week, Gowaseb was sentenced to 20 years on each of the three counts of rape by Otjiwarongo Regional Magistrate Marilize du Plessis.
During the trial, the nine-year-old girl testified that after the third rape in three days she had asked her rapist why he was doing “these things”. Gowaseb allegedly told her sexual intercourse with a minor would prevent him from getting sick.
The girl and her ten-year-old friend, who alleged Gowaseb had raped her too, testified that he raped them three times over the course of three days in March 2013, in a half-built house he was occupying on a temporary basis. He was out on bail, awaiting trial in the Kamanjab rape case.
The girls testified that they were lured into Gowaseb’s house by promises of meat, bread, money and dagga on various occasions over the three days. When that stopped working, threats against them and their families did the trick.
Gowaseb was charged with six counts of rape of the two minor girls, in addition to assault by threat, after their parents and guardians reported him to the police
Last week, Du Plessis found the accused guilty on all the rape charges involving the nine-year-old girl.
However, she said the court could not rely on the testimony of the second complainant, her ten-year-old friend, and the medical evidence did not support her rape claim.
In her judgment, Du Plessis said the impression the court got from the testimony of the two girls is that they “were both pre-teen when this incident took place, they live in extreme poverty and they are unsophisticated in regards to their level of education.”
She said it is possible the girls decided to tell the story the way they did because “they thought they would be in less trouble if there were two of them that went through the same experience”.
Nevertheless, despite the motives of the complainants, Du Plessis said the first complainant’s testimony “is of such a sound nature that the court can safely rely on it as being reliable”.
She added that the medical evidence relating to the nine-year-old girl was also persuasive.
The girl testified that Gowaseb had called her to his house “to get meat and bread”. When she entered the house there was no food, however, and Gowaseb ordered her to lie on his bed.
“When she wanted to scream the accused tied her hands and mouth with a black cloth,” Du Plessis said in her judgment.
He proceeded to undress her and used petroleum jelly before raping her. Afterwards, she went home and told no one.
The next day, she again entered his house after he had given her N$1 to buy dagga, the court heard. When she returned to the house Gowaseb allegedly smoked some of the dagga before raping her again.
On the third day he raped her a third time after threatening to kill her if she told her parents, she testified.
The girls both testified that the rapes took place in daytime after they had returned home from school early because a teacher had been booked off due to illness.
The case came to light after the caretaker of one of the girls noticed their absence on the third day, and was told the girls were at Gowaseb’s house.
Gowaseb pleaded not guilty to all charges and during his brief testimony denied all allegations against him.
Regional court prosecutor Leonard Tjiveze represented the State while Gowaseb was represented by State-appointed lawyer Loretha Muvangua.
JANA-MARI SMITH