Doctor gives evidence in rape case

UYAPO KGOSI
Correspondent | Thursday February 14, 2008 00:00

The case pits the state against Nonkululeko Meshack, 22 and his co-accused, Gaone Morake, 20, Vincent Montsho, 19, Tsholanang Podisi, 19 and another, a juvenile. She told a near empty courtroom that she conducted an examination on the two alleged victims of rape. In her report, Kupangi says they were brought to her attention in 2007, by members of the Botswana Police while she was still employed at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital. She did physical and genital exams for both.

'The physical exam I conducted on my first patientshowed that she was physically and mentally stable;her clothes were clean, no scratches or traces of blood, and she could also walk alone,' she said. The patient was able to answer her questions. The medical results showed that the complainant was sexually active. She was not menstruating at the time. Her hymen was intact with no bleeding. Her breasts were okay, and there were no external injuries.  However, she said, the victim's vagina had a yellowish discharge. Nevertheless, both physical and genital tests conducted on the second victim, a 17 year old, who denied being sexually active, according to the report, produced similar results. In her conclusion, the doctor told the court that the presence of a vaginal discharge indicates that sexual intercourse took place and they were traces of semen. 'Both patients did not show any sign of ill health, and I could not understand whether the patients were raped or not,' she stated. When asked to comment on the report put forward by the doctor, the accused persons said they had no objection.

The complainants allegedly lost their cell phones and money during the invasion. At the beginning of the trial, the victims told the court that they had come to Botswana for shopping with their families and did not manage to go back to Zimbabwe that day. Information before court is that they met one of the accused persons while seeking accommodation for the night at the Francistown busrank. They were attacked around midnight, raped and robbed, they claimed. Senior Magistrate Thato Mujaji presided over the case.