Court to deliver judgment on rape sentence appeal next month

A Mariental man, who was 23 years old at the time of his arrest in March 2017 on rape charges and later sentenced to 18 years in prison, is now awaiting the ruling on his appeal against his sentence.Dosantos Gomaseb (31), with the assistance of his legal aid lawyer, Laura Pack, sought relief from the Windhoek High Court in December 2023 regarding his rape conviction and sentence.The sentence was handed down in February 2022 by Mariental magistrate Sunsley Zisengwe.Gomaseb was accused of following a woman walking towards an area called Sandveld in Mariental on the morning of Tuesday, 7 March 2017.The woman told Zisengwe that Gomaseb had asked if he could walk with her, but she declined, saying "no".Ignoring her response, he ran after her, kicked her to the ground, and pulled her up and pushed her against a tree. When she asked him why he was doing this, he responded, "I’m going to f*** you", the. woman testified. She told the court she fought him off twice, but on the third attempt, he managed to rape her.Grounds of appealGomaseb is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence, with five years suspended, after being convicted of contravening Section 2(1)(a) of the Combating of Rape Act 8 of 2000. Aggrieved by the sentence, he filed an appeal on 21 August 2024, accompanied by a condonation application, as the appeal was not filed within the required 14-day period. Gomaseb argues that the magistrate's court was too harsh in imposing an 18-year prison sentence with five years suspended, despite his previous convictions, and that the court failed to consider mercy and overemphasised the seriousness of the offence, neglecting substantial and compelling circumstances that warranted a lesser sentence.Gomaseb pleads that his personal circumstances, including being HIV positive, suffering from epilepsy (which developed while in custody, according to him) and dealing with hypertension and high blood pressure, should have been considered. He also mentioned mental health problems and said that he attempted suicide twice in 2020.Prior convictionHowever, Gomaseb is not unfamiliar with prison, as he was arrested in 2009 at the age of 15 on a charge of rape of a young girl. He was incarcerated and spent a year and a half in custody with hardened criminals. He was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison, with three years suspended, and spent an additional two and a half years in custody with adult offenders as a juvenile.Filistas Shikerete, representing the state in this matter, objected to Gomaseb's appeal, underlining that he is a repeat offender with several prior convictions, including a prior conviction of rape. "This he committed at the age of 15, meaning the accused was not deterred when he was sent to prison for three years for raping a young child via digital penetration. In fact, the appellant has since graduated to sexual assaults via penile penetration", he said. High Court judge Herman January is expected to deliver his ruling on 21 February.rita@nmh-hub.com.na

Court to deliver judgment on rape sentence appeal next month

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Court to deliver judgment on rape sentence appeal next month

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Login