Police hunt riverbed rapist

A 36-year-old woman was raped by an unknown man in the Gammams riverbed in Khomasdal this past Friday afternoon. The woman was on her way from Khomasdal to visit a friend living in the Funky Town residential area near the Woerman Hyper shopping complex and took a shortcut through the riverbed between 15:00 and 16:00. The suspect allegedly grabbed the woman and pulled her into long bushes near a bridge, which runs over the Gammams River along Florence Nightingale Street. City Police Senior Superintendent Gerry Shikesho said the suspect had no other intention but to rape, because all the victim’s belongings were still on her when police arrived at the scene. He said the victim was rushed to the Katutura State Hospital for treatment. Shikesho said the City Police will monitor the Gammams riverbed area, as another incident of attempted rape was reported there last weekend. In that incident, a woman in her mid-20s was nearly raped by a man, whom the City Police think could be the same suspect. The woman managed to run away after a passerby saw what was happening and started screaming. This distracted the suspect, giving the victim an opportunity to escape. Shikesho said the description of the suspect given by both women, who were attacked, matches. “It is possible that the suspects could be one person who is trying to start a war in this area, but we will not allow it to go any further. We, therefore, urge anyone walking in that area not to walk alone or take shortcuts through the riverbed, as they can easily become targets of crime, especially during this time of the year when it rains and the grass is high,” he said. Shikesho urged the public to be on the lookout for a man in his late 20s. The suspect is short to medium in height and has a dark brown complexion. In July 2010, 17-year-old Magdalena Stoffels was raped and killed in the same riverbed near the Woerman Hyper shopping complex, about one kilometre away from the bridge. The culprit is yet to be apprehended. Meanwhile, another three women, including a 53-year old attending a funeral in Gibeon, have been raped over the weekend. The woman was allegedly sleeping at around 02:46, when she felt someone on top of her. The suspect was allegedly camping at the same house, where the incident took place at Gibeon’s Old Location. He fled from the room and has since left the area. Another rape occurred in Windhoek in the early hours of yesterday morning, when a 29-year-old woman was attacked by an unknown man in a riverbed at Mathisthi Street in the Greenwell Matongo. The victim was returning home from a night out and took a taxi outside a bar. It is alleged that when the lady left the bar, an unknown patron also left and got into the same taxi. When the victim was dropped off, the suspect also got out, and when the taxi drove away the suspect grabbed the woman and pulled her into the riverbed where he raped her. At Rundu, in the Kavango Region, an 18-year-old girl was raped on Friday evening. The girl was walking home after visiting a friend at around 23:00, when she was approached by an unknown man who dragged her into his house and raped her. Police are still searching for the suspect. WINDHOEK GORDON JOSEPH AND NAMPA