Former National Council member Steve Biko Booys, who has spent the past five years in custody on rape charges, is now making a sixth attempt to be granted bail.
Booys has filed a new bail application in the Windhoek Regional Court, where he is standing trial on two counts of rape in connection with an incident that allegedly took place at his home at Okahandja in January 2021.
His latest application to be granted bail is based on new facts, the court has been informed by his current defence lawyer, Tuna Nhinda.
However, public prosecutor Emma Mayavero argued during a hearing before magistrate Helvi Shikalepo yesterday that there are no new facts on which Booys’ latest bail application is based, and that the application repeats the grounds on which Booys previously applied, without success, to be granted bail.
Booys (47), who is a former regional councillor for the Okahandja constituency and former National Council member, is accused of raping a woman at his home at Okahandja on 16 and 17 January 2021.
The woman was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incidents.
Booys was arrested near the start of February 2021, and has been held in custody since then.
He denied guilt on charges that include two counts of rape when his trial started before magistrate Esme Molefe in the Windhoek Regional Court near the end of July 2023.
In a plea statement given to the court, Booys denied that he had intercourse with the complainant and said she is a single witness whose evidence must be handled with caution.
He also claimed the complainant “suffers from severe mental illness” and that her evidence is not reliable.
In her testimony during the trial, the complainant told the court Booys raped her on two successive evenings.
She said the incidents happened after she and Booys had drunk numerous bottles of beer and also a bottle of vodka.
Nhinda argued yesterday that there has been “a protracted delay” in Booys’ trial, which he said was not Booys’ fault.
Mayavero, however, noted that two defence lawyers who represented Booys have withdrawn from the case since his trial started and that this resulted in delays.
Nhinda also argued that the state does not have a strong case against Booys and that a reasonable court would not convict him on the evidence heard during the trial so far.
Mayavero disagreed with Nhinda’s argument on the strength of the state’s case, though.
She argued that the prosecution’s evidence includes DNA test results and cellphone text message records that implicate Booys on the charges he is facing.
Arguing that the state has “a sketchy case” against Booys, Nhinda said it would be in the interests of justice for him to be released on bail.
Mayavero, though, argued that the strength of the state’s case could be a reason for Booys to flee if released on bail, as he could face a substantial period of imprisonment if he is found guilty.
Shikalepo postponed the delivery of her ruling on Booys’ bail application to 24 March.
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