Magistrate rejects guilty plea in rape case

The guilty plea of Peter Robert Raobe was not accepted because he contradicted himself during questioning by the magistrate. Contrary to what he had earlier told the court, Raobe said he had sex with the complainant because they were lovers and denied that he used a knife to subdue her.

On hearing this, the magistrate said the accused is now contradicting himself. “In my view I think he did not understand the facts. I will give him another chance to go and read the facts. I want him to go and read them thoroughly because I am going to examine him on what is contained in the facts,” Basupi said. The prosecutor Nancy Obonye-Ebineng then told the magistrate that the accused had told her that he does not know how to read and write because he had never being to school. Basupi asked an official from prisons to help Raobe with the facts because it is crucial that he understands them before the case can proceed.