Spotlight on ‘confession’ in trial over fatal gang rape

TWO of the men accused of kidnapping, gang-raping and murdering a young mother of two children in Windhoek in May 2005 claimed in the High Court this week that Police officers beat them up in an attempt to get them to confess to their alleged crimes after they had been arrested.

The trial of Sam Angolo (24), Jonathan Ashipala Taapopi (22), Stefanus Lazarus (28) and Thomas Phillemon (27) veered off this week into a trial within a trial that should determine whether a written alleged confession that Ashipala made to a Police officer after his arrest may be used as evidence against him. Ashipala is claiming that the confession was not made freely and voluntarily.The four men, whose trial started before Acting Judge Claus Hinrichsen on Tuesday last week, have pleaded not guilty to a total of 18 charges.They jointly face charges of kidnapping and murder, while each is also individually facing four charges of rape.It is alleged that the four men had kidnapped Theresia Afrikaner, a 23-year-old mother of two children, in Okuryangava in Windhoek during the night from May 13 to 14 2005, that they took turns raping her, and that they ultimately murdered Afrikaner by strangling her.Acting Judge Hinrichsen last week heard testimony by a succession of State witnesses who claimed to have seen Angolo and Ashipala assaulting Afrikaner – slapping, punching and kicking her – before Ashipala dragged her off into the darkness in the direction of a dry riverbed.Afrikaner’s body was found the next morning where she lay, partly naked, in a dry riverbed.After State advocate Ed Marondedze indicated that the prosecution intends presenting a statement that Ashipala made to the Police as evidence in the trial, the court this week started conducting a side hearing on the admissibility of the statement.In testimony given on Tuesday and yesterday, Ashipala told the court that after the Police arrested him at his home early on the morning of May 14 2005, he was taken to the offices of the Serious Crime Unit.There he was handcuffed in an uncomfortable position, interrogated and beaten up by a group of Police officers who slapped him, punched him with clenched fists and kicked him, he said.As this alleged assault was going on, the Police officers were telling him that Angolo had told them that Ashipala was the person who had raped and killed Afrikaner, Ashipala claimed.He said after an extended beating he was taken to a hospital for a medical examination.The examination took place at the Windhoek Police Mortuary, on the grounds of Windhoek Central Hospital, where a medical doctor saw him, Ashipala related.He claimed that before that happened, though, Police officers pushed him into a room where corpses were being kept and closed the door behind him.He said he could see there were dead bodies in the room – and also the body of the woman he was accused of having killed.Ashipala said he put his hands over his eyes to shield himself from the sight of the corpses around him.The sight has continued to haunt him in this dreams afterwards, though, he claimed.He said after being returned to the offices of the Serious Crime Unit he was again beaten up the next morning.Eventually he made a statement under pressure, he said.The entire statement is not true, he stated when Marondedze started to cross-examine him yesterday.With Marondedze pointing out that parts of the statement corresponded with instructions from Ashipala that his defence lawyer, Profysen Muluti, had been putting to State witnesses, Ashipala changed course and agreed that some parts of the statement were correct after all.Not correct, however, is a part where he stated that he had seen Angolo taking Afrikaner to a riverbed, he insisted.Also not correct is another part where he stated that he had seen Angolo taking out a knife, cutting the pants of Afrikaner and pulling it off, and then having sexual intercourse with her, he also insisted.And further not correct, he insisted, was a part where he stated that he told Angolo to finish so that he too could have intercourse with her.Angolo, testifying in support of Ashipala in the trial within a trial, also claimed to have been assaulted by Police officers at the Serious Crime Unit after his arrest.He claimed Ashipala was in another office at the same premises at the same time, and he could hear him screaming as he was being beaten.The trial is scheduled to continue today.Ashipala is claiming that the confession was not made freely and voluntarily.The four men, whose trial started before Acting Judge Claus Hinrichsen on Tuesday last week, have pleaded not guilty to a total of 18 charges.They jointly face charges of kidnapping and murder, while each is also individually facing four charges of rape.It is alleged that the four men had kidnapped Theresia Afrikaner, a 23-year-old mother of two children, in Okuryangava in Windhoek during the night from May 13 to 14 2005, that they took turns raping her, and that they ultimately murdered Afrikaner by strangling her.Acting Judge Hinrichsen last week heard testimony by a succession of State witnesses who claimed to have seen Angolo and Ashipala assaulting Afrikaner – slapping, punching and kicking her – before Ashipala dragged her off into the darkness in the direction of a dry riverbed.Afrikaner’s body was found the next morning where she lay, partly naked, in a dry riverbed.After State advocate Ed Marondedze indicated that the prosecution intends presenting a statement that Ashipala made to the Police as evidence in the trial, the court this week started conducting a side hearing on the admissibility of the statement.In testimony given on Tuesday and yesterday, Ashipala told the court that after the Police arrested him at his home early on the morning of May 14 2005, he was taken to the offices of the Serious Crime Unit.There he was handcuffed in an uncomfortable position, interrogated and beaten up by a group of Police officers who slapped him, punched him with clenched fists and kicked him, he said.As this alleged assault was going on, the Police officers were telling him that Angolo had told them that Ashipala was the person who had raped and killed Afrikaner, Ashipala claimed.He said after an extended beating he was taken to a hospital for a medical examination.The examination took place at the Windhoek Police Mortuary, on the grounds of Windhoek Central Hospital, where a medical doctor saw him, Ashipala related.He claimed that before that happened, though, Police officers pushed him into a room where corpses were being kept and closed the door behind him.He said he could see there were dead bodies in the room – and also the body of the woman he was accused of having killed.Ashipala said he put his hands over his eyes to shield himself from the sight of the corpses around him.The sight has continued to haunt him in this dreams afterwards, though, he claimed.He said after being returned to the offices of the Serious Crime Unit he was again beaten up the next morning.Eventually he made a statement under pressure, he said.The entire statement is not true, he stated when Marondedze started to cross-examine him yesterday.With Marondedze pointing out that parts of the statement corresponded with instructions from Ashipala that his defence lawyer, Profysen Muluti, had been putting to State witnesses, Ashipala changed course and agreed that some parts of the statement were correct after all.Not correct, however, is a part where he stated that he had seen Angolo taking Afrikaner to a riverbed, he insisted.Also not correct is another part where he stated that he had seen Angolo taking out a knife, cutting the pants of Afrikaner and pulling it off, and then having sexual intercourse with her, he also insisted.And further not correct, he insisted, was a part where he stated that he told Angolo to finish so that he too could have intercourse with her.Angolo, testifying in support of Ashipala in the trial within a trial, also claimed to have been assaulted by Police officers at the Serious Crime Unit after his arrest.He claimed Ashipala was in another office at the same premises at the same time, and he could hear him screaming as he was being beaten.The trial is scheduled to continue today.