Two men accused of raping their minor daughters

Two fathers accused of raping their minor daughters, aged six and 13, respectively, in two separate cases, made their first appearances at the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court last week.Both men face charges of sexual assault under the Combating of Rape Act and the Combating of Immoral Practices Act, for having sexual intercourse with a minor.The fathers cannot be named to protect the identities of the victims.Behind closed doorsOne of the men, a pensioner, is accused of raping his 13-year-old daughter between March and April 2022 at Onambonge village in Oshana Region.The suspect is also accused of raping his daughter’s friend, who is the same age, in March 2022. He was denied bail and remains behind bars.In the second case, a 35-year-old man stands accused of raping his six-year-old daughter at Omadhiya village, also in the Oshana Region, on an unknown date this year.Ondangwa Magistrate Alice Gawanas remanded the man’s case to 1 March 2023 for further police investigations and legal aid, and refused to grant bail to the accused.State prosecutor Martha Hasheela opposed bail for the accused due to the seriousness of the alleged offence.Hasheela also told the court that she fears the accused person will interfere with police investigations and that it will not be in the public interest or the administration of justice for bail to be granted.A pandemicNamibia has long faced what has been described as a rape pandemic.Moreover, reports of child rape continue to increase despite the implementation of child protection laws such as the Child Care and Protection Act, which became operational in 2019 when regulations were gazetted.Statistics from the police show that Namibia recorded 450 rape cases in the first six months of this year.The northern regions have the highest recorded cases of rape, with Oshana and Omusati regions topping the list.HorrorThe Omusati region has over 20 rape cases involving minors, with a recent case involving one of the youngest victims, a toddler who was less than two years old when she was raped and eventually killed.The toddler was allegedly raped repeatedly on different occasions.At the start of November, she died after she was again raped and fatally assaulted at Iitananga-Omukuku village in Ogongo Constituency in the Omusati Region.A 40-year-old man, who lives in the same house as the victim, was arrested in connection with the crime.Omusati police regional commander, Commissioner Ismael Basson, said police initially attended to a natural death, and a postmortem confirmed that Takatu Saparo was assaulted and raped before her death.tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Two men accused of raping their minor daughters

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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Two men accused of raping their minor daughters

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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