A Lobatse Magistrate found a nurse stationed at Goodhope Primary Hospital, Goitsemang Bareki, has a matter to answer where he stands accused of raping his former girlfriend.
The alleged incident dates back to 2016, and the court's decision marks a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings.
According to the state's account, Bareki and the victim were colleagues who began a romantic relationship in December 2015. They mutually agreed to keep their relationship discreet from their colleagues.
“They then parted ways with the accused person on December 24, 2015, as she was breaking for the festive holidays. They maintained communication through phone and she returned to Goodhope on the 3rd of January 2016. She then began to search for accommodation. She met the accused the following day as he requested to view the house she had secured for accommodation,” reads court records.
However, tensions emerged when Bareki suspected the victim of infidelity during her holiday break, as she was not responding to his calls.
The state alleges that Bareki demanded sexual intercourse to verify her fidelity, but she refused, stating that it wasn't appropriate in front of her child.
Further, they could meet in the evening and she noticed that he became agitated. He momentarily left the house where he went smoke,” further reads court records.
Later, the victim decided to end their relationship and Bareki visited her at her house.
“Afterwards, he phoned whilst he was still outside and asked her to open the door. She had some mixed emotions as she thought he would break the door and also thought he would come in peace. She then unlocked and after he entered into the house, he locked them inside and pushed her back. She tripped on her child who was sleeping at the material time,” reads the court record.
According to the state, Bareki then unzipped his trousers and told her that she had disrespected him and was going to have sexual intercourse with her to check whether she had slept with another man.
“He subsequently mounted her and proceeded to ravage her. In the course of her prolonged episode of agony, she told him that she was pregnant and he told her that he would gouge out the embryo from her womb. After he was done he dressed up and as he had parked his motor vehicle outside the yard, she told him that the previous night one of the tenants’ motor vehicles had broken into and persuaded him to drive it inside the yard. After he had left the room, she took her child and ran away to one of the tenant’s rooms,” the court papers read.
She reported the incident to the police.
In delivering the ruling on whether Bareki has a case to answer, the magistrate emphasised the need for the prosecution to establish prima facie evidence that Bareki was the perpetrator and that the sexual intercourse was non-consensual. The defence argued that there were inconsistencies in the victim's testimony, including the timing of the alleged assault.
However, the magistrate noted that the disclosure of pregnancy is not a legal requirement in rape cases and ruled that the prosecution had presented enough evidence to warrant further proceedings.
“I find that the prosecution has established a prima facie case of rape against the accused person. The accused person, Goitsemang Bareki, is therefore called to his defence,” the magistrate ruled that the accused has a case to answer.
