AP council candidate faces rape allegations
Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday July 30, 2019 16:56
Taujoruavi Maekopo, the party’s 2019 general elections council candidate for Gumare-Tubu South in the Ngamiland district, is expected to be trialed for rape in January next year.
Following the allegations, calls across the political divide suggest that the council candidate should step down in order to clear his name.
There are some within the AP who believe that the allegations against Maekopo might dent the party’s fortunes at the polls.
“As the AP, violence against women and children is something we do not condone. We are aware of the case,” said AP’s presidential advisor Margaret Nasha recently.
She added, “We did discuss the allegations at an executive level recently. There are those who believe that he (Maekopo) should step down and clear his name. Others are of the view that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is a tricky situation. We have sent people to engage him in relation to the allegations. The feedback that they will give us will certainly determine what action we will take as the AP.”
Nasha added that there are those who are of the view that recalling the candidate two months before the elections can work against the party.
Allegations levelled against Maekopo date back to early 2016, when he was said to be a student at Maun Senior Secondary School.
According to reports, Maekopo, who was 21 at the time, was babysitting his younger cousins and at night allegedly raped one of the girls, a 12-year-old.