Man appeals 30-year rape sentence
'Nothing' linking him to victims' injuries
A man who was found guilty of two charges of rape involving minors is adamant he is
innocent.
A father of two currently serving a 30-year sentence in the Evaristus Shikongo Correctional Facility in Tsumeb for the rape of two young girls is appealing his conviction in the Windhoek High Court.
Kenneth Chomiso, who lived in Katima Mulilo at the time, was arrested in 2019. During his trial, one of his victims testified that after he raped her, he offered her N$1 to ‘buy her silence’.
Chomiso said he was wrongfully convicted as the evidence brought against him was not substantial enough, which he explains in extensive detail in his appeal letter to the court. “Now I am dying for something which I have never done,” he wrote.
In the appeal, he refers to a medical examination report, in which the victims’ injuries were recorded. It stated that the “opening of [one of the victims’] vagina was swollen and wounded, and rotten things were found inside”.
He alleged that the girl’s mother mentioned during the trial that she had these wounds before the incident.
Chomiso further denied the rape allegations and said there is nothing linking him to the injuries sustained by the victims.
“I asked if there is anything [proving] I’m the one, and there was nothing. I went as far as asking the doctor about the [semen]. There was nothing, why?”
According to Chomiso, he has never been to the place where the rapes reportedly took place.
In his appeal, he claims the magistrate who found him guilty in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court erred in their decision.
“The magistrate and prosecutor showed me their discrimination, because they were just listening to hearsay from the state witnesses. That is unfaizr.”
Chomiso initially represented himself in the appeal case, but has since been appointed a lawyer, Salomon Kanyemba. He appeared in court last Wednesday before Judge Hosea Angula for pretrial proceedings.
Kenneth Chomiso, who lived in Katima Mulilo at the time, was arrested in 2019. During his trial, one of his victims testified that after he raped her, he offered her N$1 to ‘buy her silence’.
Chomiso said he was wrongfully convicted as the evidence brought against him was not substantial enough, which he explains in extensive detail in his appeal letter to the court. “Now I am dying for something which I have never done,” he wrote.
In the appeal, he refers to a medical examination report, in which the victims’ injuries were recorded. It stated that the “opening of [one of the victims’] vagina was swollen and wounded, and rotten things were found inside”.
He alleged that the girl’s mother mentioned during the trial that she had these wounds before the incident.
Chomiso further denied the rape allegations and said there is nothing linking him to the injuries sustained by the victims.
“I asked if there is anything [proving] I’m the one, and there was nothing. I went as far as asking the doctor about the [semen]. There was nothing, why?”
According to Chomiso, he has never been to the place where the rapes reportedly took place.
In his appeal, he claims the magistrate who found him guilty in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court erred in their decision.
“The magistrate and prosecutor showed me their discrimination, because they were just listening to hearsay from the state witnesses. That is unfaizr.”
Chomiso initially represented himself in the appeal case, but has since been appointed a lawyer, Salomon Kanyemba. He appeared in court last Wednesday before Judge Hosea Angula for pretrial proceedings.
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