Rescue dog ‘should have found victim’
A former police captain who trained search-and-rescue dogs within the police’s K9 unit, testified yesterday that it would have been difficult for a police dog not to have found Gauteng businesswoman Andy Kawa on the night she was allegedly abducted and repeatedly raped.
Pierre Olivier, who has since retired from his position as commander of the search-andrescue dog training division within the K9 unit, told the Port Elizabeth High Court that even if the dog had not picked up a scent, the handler, if unsure, should have done further checks.
Former investment broker Kawa, 51, is suing the police for R6m following an alleged 16hour abduction and rape ordeal at Kings Beach almost eight years ago.
“If the dog had made contact with [Kawa] it would have gone back to its handler. The dog would have found her if she was there,” Olivier said.
During cross examination, Olivier conceded that depending on certain circumstances, search-and-rescue dogs can fail to locate their target.
Detailing the area where Kawa was allegedly held captive and raped in December 2010, Olivier said he would have planned his search differently to include areas not directly searched by searchand-rescue dog Kojack and his handler.
Kojack and his handler arrived at Kings Beach just before 1am on December 10 after Kawa’s ransacked car was discovered in the parking lot.
After 45 minutes of searching, which included driving along the shoreline with sirens and blue lights on, an area search by foot and an aerial search, no sign of Kawa was found.
During her evidence in chief, Kawa indicated to the court on an aerial photograph where she had been taken and raped – between small shrubs and near the beach.
“I did not hear sounds of people walking. I did not hear sirens, [it] was silent. I did not have the sense of lights in the vicinity,” Kawa said.
Detailing her ordeal in graphic detail, Kawa remained poised and confident throughout her testimony.
Kawa said she was in Summerstrand on December 9 to sign an offer to purchase a house for her mother when she decided to take a brief walk on the beach before heading back to her parents’ home where a friend was waiting for her.
The pair were to take a flight back to Johannesburg at 5pm that afternoon.
“I sent an SMS to my friend to say how happy I was to purchase a house for my mother.
“As I pressed send, I looked up and saw my assailant diagonally in front of me.
“I immediately had a gut feeling that made me feel very uncomfortable,” Kawa said.
Kawa said she was grabbed from behind and threatened by a knife-wielding man wearing a pink and white ladies straw hat.
After a tussle, Kawa was dragged to nearby bushes where she was ordered to remove her clothes before being blindfolded and repeatedly raped throughout the afternoon and the night.
“When he spoke to me he was raping me. He raped me the whole night,” Kawa said.
Kawa recounted that she heard the sound of a helicopter nearby.
“I heard the helicopter and wanted to move closer to the nearby clearing,” she said.
“I was hoping the helicopter would pick up movement.
“The helicopter was closer to the shoreline. It never hovered around where we were.”
Early the following morning, Kawa’s abductor released her.
She was able to flag down a jogger on the beach whose friends called the police but after waiting for them to arrive, Kawa was taken to the Humewood police station.
Kawa is suing the minister of police, former head of the Humewood police station Brigadier Ronald Koll and two investigating officers for allegedly breaching their duties by failing to conduct a proper investigation into her claims.
Kawa previously said her R6m civil case was a way for her to seek justice and retribution for the continued trauma she suffers.
The case continues.