‘They took turns raping me’

In an exclusive interview with Namibian Sun, a young mother of four has recounted how a normal night out turned into her worst nightmare when she was gang-raped by two men she knows from her village.The incident took place earlier this month in the Oshana Region’s Onyeelelo village when Maria Shitaka (not her real name) and a male friend were on their way home from a cuca shop at around 20:00.Two young men appeared from the bushes and demanded money from them, Shitaka narrated.She said she was in shock as she knew the men from around the village and pleaded with them not to hurt her.“One of them took out a knife and pushed me to the ground. He cut off my leggings, ripped off my panties and then started to rape me,” she said.Shitaka said the other man was fighting her friend, and when her initial attacker finished raping her, they switched roles and the second man raped her too.‘They took turns’“They took turns raping me. I am devastated, it still feels like it just happened yesterday. I cannot sleep. I live in constant fear,” a distraught Shitaka said.According to her, during the attack, a third man they don’t know appeared “out of nowhere”.“This man started stabbing my friend who was trying to assist me. I got a chance to escape and ran into a nearby house to seek for assistance,” she said.According to her neighbours, Shitaka can often be heard screaming “ondaningwa oshima oshinene” in the middle of the night. This translates to “something big happened to me”.This is a clear indication that she is not over the incident and that she urgently needs counselling, a neighbour said.Thoughts of suicideShitaka - who received medical attention at the Onandjokwe hospital the next day - said she has still not received counselling, adding that she has been unable to sleep at night and struggles to cope with what happened to her.“I get caught by thoughts of committing suicide. I never thought I would be a victim of rape,” she said.The mother of four, who was still breastfeeding her youngest daughter at the time of the rape, is no longer able to due to the extreme stress and trauma of what she went through.She is, however, unable to afford formula.She pleaded for assistance, asking any Good Samaritans to help her buy nappies and formula for the baby.ArrestedMeanwhile, the two men who raped Shitaka as well as the third man, who stabbed her friend, have been arrested and made their first court appearance in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court on 7 July.They were all denied bail and the case has been postponed to 12 October for further police investigations.

‘They took turns raping me’

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‘They took turns raping me’

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