TWO men accused of raping a pre-teenage girl at Noordoewer in the ||Kharas region on separate occasions almost six years ago are due to receive the verdict in their trial in the Windhoek High Court in September.
Judge Naomi Shivute postponed the delivery of her judgement in the trial of Noordoewer residents Dirk von Weidts (75) and Jors Arrie (49) to 14 September after hearing closing oral arguments from state advocate Anna Amukugo and defence lawyers Milton Engelbrecht and Joseph Andreas yesterday.
Von Weidts and Arrie are both accused of raping or indecently assaulting a girl at Noordoewer between October 2020 and January 2021.
The girl was 10 years old at the start of that period of time, and had turned 11 by January 2021.
Von Weidts and Arrie denied guilt on all of the charges they are facing when their trial began in March 2024.
Von Weidts is charged with three counts of rape, three counts of committing or attempting to commit an indecent or immoral act with a child under the age of 16 and three charges of trafficking a person to subject her to sexual exploitation.
Arrie is charged with two counts of rape and charges of committing or attempting to commit a sexual act with a child under the age of 16, indecent assault, kidnapping and trafficking a person to subject her to sexual exploitation.
Engelbrecht, who is representing Von Weidts, and Andreas, representing Arrie, both argued that the complainant was a single witness in respect of the alleged incidents in connection with which the two accused are charged.
The complainant admitted that she lied to the police when a witness statement was taken from her, that she lied to a social worker about the incidents and that she also lied to her mother, Engelbrecht and Andreas said.
The court can rely on the evidence of a single witness only if her testimony was clear and satisfactory in every material respect, Andreas argued.
Engelbrecht argued that the complainant was not a credible witness and that she “was all over the place” with her testimony.
Engelbrecht also remarked that a doctor who examined the complainant after the alleged incidents did not note any injuries to her private parts, and could not with certainty say a sexual act had taken place.
Medical evidence before the court does not support the allegations against Von Weidts, Engelbrecht argued as well.
Amukugo argued that the complainant gave detailed testimony about seven incidents during which she said Von Weidts committed sexual acts with her.
According to the girl, Von Weidts gave her money, food and also sweets after some of the incidents.
On criticism of the complainant’s testimony, Amukugo noted that she said she was emotional on the day she gave her witness statement to the police, that she could not narrate everything that she said had happened, and that she was waiting for the day she testified in court to tell everything.
About the account she gave to a social worker, the complainant said she was not comfortable with narrating all the events to him because he was a man, Amukugo also said.
She argued that the state has proven its charges against both Von Weidts and Arrie.
Von Weidts remains free on bail while awaiting the court’s judgement.
Arrie is being held in custody.
