Appeal filed against rape conviction, sentence
A man appealing against his conviction and sentence for a charge of rape related to an 84-year-old woman is expected to hear on 5 November whether his appeal was successful. The conviction was already delivered in September 2023. The appeal will be decided by High Court judge Hosea Angula.
The magistrate in Mariental who found Johannes Kangango guilty of the rape and sentenced him, defended his ruling. Magistrate Stanley Tembwe described Kangango's actions as shocking, especially given the victim's advanced age.
"The accused unleashed his sexual desires on a vulnerable elderly woman," he said.
The alleged rape occurred in February 2019, and Kangango had been in custody for almost five years prior to his conviction.
In his appeal arguments, Kangango's legal representative, Cliff Simataa, said there was contradictory information in magistrate Tembwe's ruling and that he had reach an incorrect judgment.
Visuals
According to Simataa, the person who made the case was completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the culprit, he argued.
"The incident allegedly took place in the evening at the complainant's house – a dark structure made of corrugated iron sheets and without windows. Normally it would be difficult for anyone to see inside the complainant's house in the evening. The 84-year-old testified that her son uses a flashlight to see around the house at night."
The only source of light in the complainant's house on the evening in question was a street light situated diagonally across the street. The distance from the complainant's front door to the road is apparently about 14 metres.
Simataa also argued that the complainant testified that Kangango was wearing a beanie during the incident, further complicating correct identification.
"Under such circumstances, accurate identification would be difficult for someone with good eyesight in a well-lit environment. How much more so for a witness who is blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, attempting to identify someone trying to make out in a dark room with only a dim light from outside?" he told the court.
This, claimed Simataa, makes accurate identification virtually impossible and further undermined the reliability of the complainant's testimony.
In response to the appeal, the public prosecutor Filistas Shikerete argued that the appeal should be dismissed due to the fact that it is not in line with the rules for magistrates’ courts. She says the appellant's notice of appeal failed to give specific grounds for the appeal and that it is therefore not valid.
The magistrate in Mariental who found Johannes Kangango guilty of the rape and sentenced him, defended his ruling. Magistrate Stanley Tembwe described Kangango's actions as shocking, especially given the victim's advanced age.
"The accused unleashed his sexual desires on a vulnerable elderly woman," he said.
The alleged rape occurred in February 2019, and Kangango had been in custody for almost five years prior to his conviction.
In his appeal arguments, Kangango's legal representative, Cliff Simataa, said there was contradictory information in magistrate Tembwe's ruling and that he had reach an incorrect judgment.
Visuals
According to Simataa, the person who made the case was completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the culprit, he argued.
"The incident allegedly took place in the evening at the complainant's house – a dark structure made of corrugated iron sheets and without windows. Normally it would be difficult for anyone to see inside the complainant's house in the evening. The 84-year-old testified that her son uses a flashlight to see around the house at night."
The only source of light in the complainant's house on the evening in question was a street light situated diagonally across the street. The distance from the complainant's front door to the road is apparently about 14 metres.
Simataa also argued that the complainant testified that Kangango was wearing a beanie during the incident, further complicating correct identification.
"Under such circumstances, accurate identification would be difficult for someone with good eyesight in a well-lit environment. How much more so for a witness who is blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, attempting to identify someone trying to make out in a dark room with only a dim light from outside?" he told the court.
This, claimed Simataa, makes accurate identification virtually impossible and further undermined the reliability of the complainant's testimony.
In response to the appeal, the public prosecutor Filistas Shikerete argued that the appeal should be dismissed due to the fact that it is not in line with the rules for magistrates’ courts. She says the appellant's notice of appeal failed to give specific grounds for the appeal and that it is therefore not valid.
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