Rape-accused father says ex-wife is ‘sick’
Boy is making up stories, granny says
The child's mother allegedly complained that she could smell semen on one of the boy's teddy bears.
A 36-year-old medical doctor accused of raping his seven-year-old son said his ex-wife has psychological issues and that the rape allegations are made up.
His 58-year-old mother, charged as an accomplice in the matter, accused the boy of making up stories about being raped.
The doctor, who works at the Katutura Intermediary Hospital and is assigned to the gender-based violence unit responsible for rape victims, stands accused of raping his son on numerous occasions. His mother, a chorister of a local gospel choir, allegedly stood guard while the rape was taking place, a claim she has vehemently denied.
When he took the stand yesterday after lunch, the doctor - who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder - said his ex-wife acted strangely after she returned from a holiday in Europe with her friends.
According to him, she first took issue with a tear the size of a ‘papercut’ on the child’s anus, and eventually told him that she can ‘smell genitals’ on the child’s hands and the back of his T-shirt.
Semen scent on teddy
“I told her we will cause detachment and attachment issues if we have a new [nanny] every time. But she looked like something was bothering her. I even told her that maybe the child touched the nanny on the back of her leg where it sweated,” he said.
“The one time when we played piano in the room, I held the baby under my arm and I told her maybe it was even my armpits that she was smelling. She told me that she smelled [semen] on the child’s teddy bear and then I told her ‘let's get you to a psychologist’. But after a few sessions, she accused me of bribing the psychologist,” he added.
The doctor said his ex-wife changed nannies after three or four days, while painting her as a deranged woman who refused therapy. “After the last session, the psychologist told me ‘your wife is sick’,” he told the court. He added that he, at a consultation, asked whether there was a possibility of any sexual abuse, to which a paediatrician allegedly responded no.
“She told me one day that the child was getting nightmares and doesn't sleep at night. When she found the cut on the baby’s anus, she told me the next day that this thing is getting worse. It became like a triangle and it did look sore. We took the child to a paediatrician and the first thing the paediatrician said was that the child needs sun. She [ex-wife] didn't want the child to play outside, because she feared something might happen to the child,” he said.
‘Gruesome’ exam
According to the rape-accused doctor, they were then referred to a surgeon for a colonoscopy, who said there was nothing wrong with the boy. In response, his ex-wife allegedly accused him of having bribed the doctor.
“I got concerned,” he said, adding that the nanny who looked after their child since he was born and eventually worked for him and his mother gave an sworn statement in which she said his ex-wife’s inspection of the child’s anus was abnormal.
“That gruesome examination [colonoscopy] tore my heart, because the child’s words were ‘ouch’, ‘stop’ and ‘Dadda’. I was so traumatised,” he said before he broke down in tears.
The bail hearing is expected to continue this afternoon. The State is opposing bail, citing that both accused persons were flight risks since they have family outside the country - in South Africa, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Sisa Namandje, representing both accused persons, yesterday demanded that the State provide proof and dates of the times of the alleged rape incidents, and it could not give dates of such incidents.
“It is extraordinary to imagine what the State is alleging,” he said.
Making it up
The grandmother told the court yesterday that her grandson is making up these allegations, adding that she cannot understand why he would do that.
According to her, she never touched the boy inappropriately. Instead, she baked cookies - in particular gingerbread men - with him and let him play outside the house most of the time. “I did not do that. I did not do anything to the boy.”
The child’s mother has not been attending the bail hearing because it would allegedly be too draining for her, Namibian Sun established.
[email protected]
His 58-year-old mother, charged as an accomplice in the matter, accused the boy of making up stories about being raped.
The doctor, who works at the Katutura Intermediary Hospital and is assigned to the gender-based violence unit responsible for rape victims, stands accused of raping his son on numerous occasions. His mother, a chorister of a local gospel choir, allegedly stood guard while the rape was taking place, a claim she has vehemently denied.
When he took the stand yesterday after lunch, the doctor - who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder - said his ex-wife acted strangely after she returned from a holiday in Europe with her friends.
According to him, she first took issue with a tear the size of a ‘papercut’ on the child’s anus, and eventually told him that she can ‘smell genitals’ on the child’s hands and the back of his T-shirt.
Semen scent on teddy
“I told her we will cause detachment and attachment issues if we have a new [nanny] every time. But she looked like something was bothering her. I even told her that maybe the child touched the nanny on the back of her leg where it sweated,” he said.
“The one time when we played piano in the room, I held the baby under my arm and I told her maybe it was even my armpits that she was smelling. She told me that she smelled [semen] on the child’s teddy bear and then I told her ‘let's get you to a psychologist’. But after a few sessions, she accused me of bribing the psychologist,” he added.
The doctor said his ex-wife changed nannies after three or four days, while painting her as a deranged woman who refused therapy. “After the last session, the psychologist told me ‘your wife is sick’,” he told the court. He added that he, at a consultation, asked whether there was a possibility of any sexual abuse, to which a paediatrician allegedly responded no.
“She told me one day that the child was getting nightmares and doesn't sleep at night. When she found the cut on the baby’s anus, she told me the next day that this thing is getting worse. It became like a triangle and it did look sore. We took the child to a paediatrician and the first thing the paediatrician said was that the child needs sun. She [ex-wife] didn't want the child to play outside, because she feared something might happen to the child,” he said.
‘Gruesome’ exam
According to the rape-accused doctor, they were then referred to a surgeon for a colonoscopy, who said there was nothing wrong with the boy. In response, his ex-wife allegedly accused him of having bribed the doctor.
“I got concerned,” he said, adding that the nanny who looked after their child since he was born and eventually worked for him and his mother gave an sworn statement in which she said his ex-wife’s inspection of the child’s anus was abnormal.
“That gruesome examination [colonoscopy] tore my heart, because the child’s words were ‘ouch’, ‘stop’ and ‘Dadda’. I was so traumatised,” he said before he broke down in tears.
The bail hearing is expected to continue this afternoon. The State is opposing bail, citing that both accused persons were flight risks since they have family outside the country - in South Africa, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Sisa Namandje, representing both accused persons, yesterday demanded that the State provide proof and dates of the times of the alleged rape incidents, and it could not give dates of such incidents.
“It is extraordinary to imagine what the State is alleging,” he said.
Making it up
The grandmother told the court yesterday that her grandson is making up these allegations, adding that she cannot understand why he would do that.
According to her, she never touched the boy inappropriately. Instead, she baked cookies - in particular gingerbread men - with him and let him play outside the house most of the time. “I did not do that. I did not do anything to the boy.”
The child’s mother has not been attending the bail hearing because it would allegedly be too draining for her, Namibian Sun established.
[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article