Gang rapists convicted 0 The circumstances leading to a victim being raped are very hostile to the sanctity of her femininity and are often forgotten or overlooked due to the stigma and permanent scars that are attached to a rape victim within the society where the incident took place.These sentiments were expressed by Windhoek High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka during the trial of Victum Gomeb, Elvis Gau-Goab and Harry Patric Bowe accused of gang raping a 17 year old in 2010 near the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) in Khorixas.
Siboleka said, even worse is when the victim’s assailants were more than one, as in this case, he added.
The trio was cumulatively found guilty of nine counts of rape and the court found each one of them guilty of three counts of rape.
Judge Alfred Siboleka in his judgement said the court was satisfied that the prosecution proved all the allegations it preferred against the three accused.
At the time the trio committed the crime, the accused were all 17 years old. They took turns to rape the complainant on the night of 13 May 2010.
During earlier proceedings, the victim testified that she was dragged from a drinking and dancing spot to the scene where she was raped. She alleged that the accused helped each other to hold her down and took turns to rape her repeatedly.
Siboleka emphasised that when the state has established a prima facie case, the court may unless the accused’s silence is reasonably explicable on other grounds, in appropriate circumstances conclude that the prima facie evidence has become conclusive of his guilt.
He further said there was no dispute that both the accused and the complainant were under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place.
“The detailing circumstances leading to the victim being raped are in themselves very hostile to the sanctity of her femininity,” the judge said.
According to him, the serious aftereffects attached to the rape makes the victim feel very uncomfortable to tell other people what exactly happened to her.
“There is fear, in my view, being seen as a person who went out looking for it, as a person of loose morals, a drunkard or even a prostitute,” Siboleka explained. He postponed the case to 14 October for sentencing. The three accused were represented by Monty Karuaihe, Milton Engelbrecht and Johan van Vuuren.