Ex-TAFIC coach gets 10 years rape jail
Lebogang Mosikare | Thursday February 11, 2021 15:59
The convict, Newman Gaobone, 49, committed the offence between January 29 and 30 in 2014 at Gerald Estates in the Francistown Administrative District of the Republic of Botswana.
Delivering judgement, Chief Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalu said the matter was first registered before Court on April 8, 2014 but it was not until December 2015 that the trial commenced.
“The complainant testified that on January 29, 2014, she left her homestead in Block 1 at around 1800 hours for a church service at BOCCIM grounds. The church service ended at around 2300 hours and the complainant then walked home alone. She walked past Chedu Choga where she saw was a certain man who offered to take her home. However, the said man did not take her home but instead went with her to Gerald Estates. According to the complainant, the man (who she pointed put as the accused person herein) took her to her house where he directed her to alight from the car…The two of them then got inside the accused person’s house where he started to fondle her,” said Mulalu.
“The accused person then had sexual intercourse with the complainant after he undressed her. The accused person had sexual intercourse with the complainant three times without using any protection…The complainant argued that she had not consented to the sexual intercourse. The complainant woke up in the morning and the accused directed her to board a taxi. The complainant refused and the accused person then drove her home. The complainant got home and her aunt confronted her as to where she spent the night and she informed her she spent the night at the church.”
A few days later, Mulalu noted, the complainant was confronted by her teachers at school and she informed them that she had been sexually assaulted by a certain man at Gerald Estates.
“The complainant then led the teachers to the accused person’s place at Gerald Estates where the accused person was arrested. The complainant was taken to the hospital for medical attention and was confirmed to be pregnant…The complainant generally impressed me as a witness of truth. She gave her testimony in a straightforward and consistent manner. All the other witnesses gave evidence that is consistent with hers in so far as what they said she reported to them is concerned. I say this conscious of the fact that she lied to her grandmother regarding her whereabouts on the night of the incident,” said Mulalu.
The Magistrate went on: “I am also of the view that the grandmother would not have necessarily assisted much even if the complainant had reported her ordeal to her. There is evidence before Court showing that the aunt to the complainant reported the incident to her (grandmother) but she failed to report it to the police for flimsy reasons. She (grandmother) also, at one point, attempted to promote reconciliation over the incident. Although no medical evidence was availed, there is evidence also suggesting that the complainant has a diminished mental capacity. That is why she was in her standard 5 at the age of 15 at the time of incident in question.”
In conclusion, Mulalu said: “She reported her ordeal to her teachers a bit late but that can certainly be excused. She is said to be a slow thinker. I am satisfied that the issue of sexual intercourse was corroborated by the evidence of the medical officer. I am also satisfied that is safe, on the circumstances of this matter, to convict largely on the evidence of the complainant. The risk of false incrimination has been eliminated. I dismiss the evidence of the accused person to be false beyond doubt. I conclude that the prosecution proved their case against the accused person beyond reasonable doubt. I accordingly convict him as charged of the offence of rape.”
Ogolotse Tampa represented the State.