Defence lawyer accuses state of ambush
Defence lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji has accused deputy prosecutor general Innocencia Nyoni of ambush after she introduced untested evidence during the bail application of alleged serial rapist Gavin Gawanab.
This came through the testimony of the investigating officer, a certain Inspector Simao. According to Simao, Gawanab dodged the police on several occasions, contrary to his claim that he immediately handed himself over to the police the moment he heard they were looking for him.
Simao further testified that Gawanab was found hiding under a bed at his late mother’s house after the police were informed of his whereabouts. Siyomunji did not take kindly to this evidence, saying his client was not cross-examined on this, and thus not given a chance to either dispute or confirm this information.
He objected strongly, but Windhoek High Court Judge Herman January allowed the evidence, and said Siyomunji can address the issue in argument. The lawyer argued that this evidence cannot be relied upon by the court as it is untested.
Siyomunji further told the court that none of the allegations against his client have been proven in a court of law, and as such, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
According to Siyomunji, his client is denying all the allegations against him. He further argued that none of the complainants produced any bail statements opposing bail for Gawanab.
“There is no proof before court that the applicant is a danger to society,” Siyomunji argued, adding that there is nothing to show that he is not a suitable candidate for bail. He further stated that none of the grounds on which the state opposes bail had been substantiated, and that no prima facie case was established. The state is opposing the bail application.
According to Nyoni, there is a genuine fear that Gawanab will re-offend if he is released on bail as there is a precedence. She said all his offences happened shortly after he was released on bail on one alleged crime, and also not far apart.
The state also fears that he might abscond if granted bail, and that he may interfere with state witnesses who have not testified yet as he knows them all. Nyoni is expected to present her arguments on 18 May. Gawanab is facing 23 counts, including rapes of minors, attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, assault, attempted rape, alternatively indecent assault, kidnapping, housebreaking with intent to rape and rape, as well as crimen injuria. He pleaded not guilty to all charges at the start of his trial, and put the onus on the State to prove each and every allegation against him.
His crime spree of allegedly sexually assaulting under-aged girls started in December 2012 until he was arrested in
November 2018 after he allegedly raped a 10-year-old girl and cut open her genitals. He was out on
Windhoek High Court Judge Naomi Shivute said there is a real possibility that a Gobabis man, who was released from custody on parole on a previous murder conviction, will re-offend if released on bail pending his trial on another murder charge.
The judge dismissed the bail application of Petrus Hoxobeb (57), who is charged with murdering Josephine Afrikaner by stabbing her with a knife at least nine times at a shebeen in Gobabis during the evening hours of 14 July 2019.
According to the indictment, Hoxobeb and the victim were involved in a relationship some time prior to her death, but were no longer involved during the alleged commission of the crime.
According to the judge, the state appears to have a strong prima facie case against Hoxobeb, and it is therefore not in the interest of the public or the administration of justice to release him on bail.
The judge further said that it is common cause that Hoxobeb has two previous convictions, one for murder and one for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily bail on the previous charges when he allegedly committed this act in 2018. harm. In those cases, he was convicted of killing the mother of his children, and sentenced to 25 years. He served 10 years and six months before being released on parole. This, Shivute said, was evidence that Hoxobeb is a violent person with no respect for human life or the law.
She further stated that if convicted of murder, there is a likelihood that Hoxobeb may be sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment without the option of a fine. “This in itself would be a reason for the applicant to abscond,” the judge reiterated.
“Since the applicant has a propensity to commit offences where violence is an element, the applicant is likely to commit further offences if released on bail. His release will be prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order as he would be a danger to women and other vulnerable people.”
During the evening of 14 July 2019, the victim was socialising with some of her friends at a shebeen. The victim later allegedly left the shebeen to relieve herself outside. There, she was accompanied by a certain Esmie Thomelo, who is the complainant in the charge of assault by threat Hoxobeb is also facing.
It is further alleged that Hoxobeb then followed them, armed with a knife, and pounced on the squatting Afrikaner and stabbed her. When Thomelo wanted to intervene, he threatened to stab her with the knife he was still wielding. The victim died on the spot due to blood loss caused by stab wounds to the heart and lungs. Hoxobeb then fled the scene, and was arrested while hiding in a mountainous area in the Gobabis district.