State’s application for leave to appeal Noa acquittal rejected

The State’s application for leave to appeal against a trainee medical doctor’s acquittal on a rape conviction was dismissed yesterday in the High Court. Dennis Noa was convicted of rape in the Windhoek Regional Court in January 2024 after he was accused of raping an 18-year-old patient in 2021 while working as a trainee doctor at Katutura Hospital in Windhoek. The patient had sustained a head injury in a road accident that had left him in an unresponsive state.Noa denied guilt from the start. He was sentenced to eight years in prison but subsequently successfully appealed against his conviction and sentencing.On 8 November 2024, the High Court in Windhoek acquitted him. The State sought to appeal this decision, but before approaching the Supreme Court, it first had to file an application for leave to appeal with the High Court.Little prospect of success High Court judges Philanda Christiaan and Herman January dismissed this application yesterday."We are not convinced that the applicant (the State) has succeeded in proving, on a balance of probabilities, that there are prospects of success on appeal," the ruling stated.In its application for leave to appeal, prosecutors argued that the court erred in its evaluation of circumstantial evidence. It also contended that the court misinterpreted the significance of a substance found in the complainant’s anus.Additionally, the State claimed that the court reached an incorrect conclusion regarding the existence of a “fifth porter.”State prosecutor Palmer Khumalo argued in court that Noa’s version of events was wrongly accepted as “reasonable” and “possibly true.”Beyond doubt Noa’s legal representative, Sisa Namandje, countered that the State had no reasonable prospects of success on appeal.“The applicant (State) failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant was subjected to a sexual act, specifically the alleged penetration by the respondent (Noa)’s penis,” Namandje argued.He argued that even if a sexual crime had occurred, Noa was not the only person with the opportunity to commit the offence.Namandje also pointed out that the State did not dispute the authenticity of the official attendance register, which allegedly indicated that five porters were on duty on the date in question.Regional courtThe High Court overturned the regional court’s conviction based on findings that the magistrate omitted certain portions of the evidence and likely failed to consider them.The judges ruled that the magistrate had wrongly determined that the case against Noa was proven beyond reasonable doubt.– kristien@nmh-hub.com.na

State’s application for leave to appeal Noa acquittal rejected

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-28

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State’s application for leave to appeal Noa acquittal rejected

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-28

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