Gobabis gang rape accused found guilty

Three men, who were on trial for allegedly taking turns to rape a woman in Gobabis nearly four years ago, were convicted last week in the Windhoek High Court.

Handing down judgement, Judge Naomi Shivute said the State proved beyond reasonable doubt that Kingsley Balzer (19), Fritz Naobeb (19) and Norman Witbeen (23) had sex with the victim under coercive circumstances in the early hours of 6 March 2016.

Judge Shivute convicted Balzer on one count of rape, while Noabeb and Witbeen were found guilty on two counts of rape, respectively.

Witbeen was further convicted on a charge of theft for allegedly stealing the victim’s cell phone after the incident. The group were, however, acquitted on charges of assault by threat.

According to court documents, the victim was on her way home during the early morning hours after socialising with friends when the three accused accosted and raped her.

The accused further threatened to hit her with a panga and stole her cell phone in the process.

The court concluded that the complainant gave credible evidence that the accused took turns to rape her.

The victim informed the court that two of the accused held her down while one of them had sex with her. “Although the complainant was drunk, she was not that drunk as not to be aware of what was happening around her,” said Shivute.

She further stated the accused contradicted one another on what exactly transpired on the date in question.

At the start of their trial, the accused denied guilt, stating they all had consensual sex with the victim. It was their evidence that they escorted the victim home after socialising with friends.

When they got home, the victim told them that she was grateful and was going to thank them for escorting her home.

They allegedly assumed she was going to have sex with them because of the way she was behaving. The accused, who were on bail, had their bail cancelled and were detained.

They are expected to be back in court on 25 January 2021 for pre-sentencing hearing.

Defence lawyers Milton Engelbrecht, Giant Kauari and Jermaine Muchali are representing the accused.