Man appeals 30-year rape sentence, cites lack of semen evidence

A man convicted of raping a woman continues to maintain his innocence in an appeal lodged at the Windhoek High Court in which he has argued that the woman's medical report showed "no obvious signs of sexual assault”.

Chizamo Sisinzi was sentenced to 30 years in prison in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate's Court in December 2020, after being convicted on three counts of rape.

Sisinzi subsequently filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence at the Windhoek High Court.

Last week, a preliminary hearing of Sisinzi’s appeal was heard in the Windhoek High Court for allocation of a hearing date.

Sisinzi was accused of attacking the victim at night while she was returning home and of raping her three times.



Errors in judgment

Sisinzi's lawyer, Mbanga Siyomunji, argued last week that the magistrate erred on several points, particularly by disregarding alleged inconsistencies in the victim's account of events.

Siyomunji also argued that no rape kit was brought forward as evidence – an essential tool for determining the presence of semen, which in this case would have been vital, according to him.

"So as it stands, from a scientific point of view, there was no rape proven," Siyomunji argued before High Court judge Hosea Angula during proceedings last week.

Siyomunji pointed out that the victim testified to having sustained injuries on her knees and inside her vagina and that she had experienced bleeding, despite the alleged absence of tangible evidence.

“The doctor also testified that she observed the injuries, but when confronted with the J88 (medical report) and the fact that it does not indicate a single injury, it became evident that she lied," he told the court.



Judgment sound

State prosecutor Palmer Kumalo defended the credibility of his client's testimony, citing that for rape to be committed, the accused does not need to ejaculate.

“This ground loses sight, and the definition of a sexual act in terms of the Combating of Rape Act, 8 of 2000, does not have an element of ejaculation in it," he told the court.

Kumalo asked the court to consider that the victim was examined by a doctor on 21 April 2015, nearly a week after she was allegedly raped by Sisinzi.

He argued that it was unlikely for semen to be found after such a long time.

Kumalo also said the lack of evidence is not fatal to the conviction.

“The conviction is very sound considering that there was an eyewitness. That eyewitness is direct evidence of the crime," he said.



Appeal filed too late

The State last week indicated that Sisinzi filed his original notice of appeal in late January 2021, along with an application for condonation of the late filing.

According to Sisinzi, the reason for the late filing was that he was in quarantine at the correctional facility. He, however, filed an amended notice of appeal, which was drafted on 5 July 2023, two and a half years after he was sentenced.