Rape claim against doctor ‘destroyed’ by evidence

A claim that a medical doctor raped his son in his car at a school at the start of February was destroyed during a bail hearing in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court, a magistrate said on Friday.

Magistrate Immanuel Udjombala made the remark about a claim that the Windhoek-based medical practitioner raped his son while the doctor’s mother was outside his car in a ruling in which he granted bail to both the doctor (36) and his mother (58), four weeks after their arrest on a charge of rape.

The doctor and his mother are at this stage charged with one count of rape, with the state alleging that they committed sexual acts with the doctor’s son on diverse occasions from 2018 to January this year.

The names of the two accused may not be published, to protect the identity of the child involved in the matter.

During their bail hearing, the doctor and his mother both denied that they committed any sexual acts with the boy, who is now seven years old.

The doctor also claimed the allegations against him and his mother were made up by his former wife, who is the boy’s mother.
During the bail hearing, the court heard that the boy told a social worker on 2 February this year that his father committed a sexual act with him in the doctor’s car at a Windhoek school the previous day.

The boy told the social worker his father’s mother was also at the school that day, and that she was standing outside his father’s car while the sexual act was being committed.

However, evidence showing that on the day of the alleged incident the doctor’s mother was at a medical facility in Windhoek, where she was receiving cancer treatment, was provided to the court.

In his ruling on Friday, Udjombala said that evidence destroyed the claim that the doctor sexually assaulted his son in his car at the boy’s school on 1 February.

He also said a failure to have the boy medically examined after he made the claim to a social worker on 2 February was “troublesome”, and that the boy’s version of events could be tainted, as he had been seen by previous social workers and could have been “programmed” to paint a picture desired by his mother.

Udjombala also noted that no injuries indicating that the doctor’s son had been sexually assaulted were found during medical examinations of the boy.

Udjombala recounted that the doctor stated during divorce proceedings against the boy’s mother that she had accused him of sexually abusing his son, and that she then denied she had made such allegations.

The doctor’s disclosure of accusations made against him by the boy’s mother shows the allegations need to be seriously investigated, as lies can destroy the career of a person and affect the boy, as well, Udjombala said.

He added that the state must act in the best interest of the boy and not just rely on the word of his mother, but should also consider the history between the doctor and his ex-wife.

Udjombala granted bail in an amount of N$15 000 each to the doctor and his mother, on condition that they may not in any way interfere with state witnesses or the state’s evidence in their case after their release.

The two accused have to make a next court appearance on 13 September.

They were represented by defence lawyers Sisa Namandje, Mbushandje Ntinda, Karel Gaeb and Marco Kazondana during the bail hearing.

The state was represented by prosecutors Seredine Jacobs, Bernadine Bertolini and Rowan van Wyk.