Teek molestation trial postponed

THE High Court trial of former Supreme Court Judge Pio Teek, who is facing eight charges in connection with allegations of child molestation, was postponed on Friday.

After five days of proceedings in the trial, the two children who are claimed to have been the source of the charges against Teek (59) have still not been called to testify. Deputy Prosecutor-General Heidi Jacobs, who is conducting the prosecution, has not yet given any indication in open court of when she plans to call them to the witness stand – but it is set to be only once the trial resumes, and the date of that has not yet been set.On Friday, having heard the testimony of the mother of the older of the two children, South African Judge Ronnie Bosielo was asked to postpone the case to May 15, as the five days that had been set aside for the trial had proven not to be enough to finalise the matter.On May 15, the next dates for the continuation of the trial should be set.Shortly before the postponement, Jacobs told the court that her next witnesses would be children who were at the scene in the area of the Katutura Single Quarters where Teek is alleged to have picked up two girls, aged nine and ten, on the evening of January 28 last year.He allegedly took them to his home in the Brakwater area, where the children stayed over until Teek took them back to Katutura the next morning.He is denying allegations that he had abducted or sexually fondled the children, or had committed rape by putting a finger into the private parts of the older girl, while they were with him.Under cross-examination from Richard Metcalfe, who is leading Teek’s defence team, the mother of the ten-year-old girl agreed on Friday that her daughter appeared to have been adding onto her story of what she said had happened while she and her friend were with Teek each time that she retold the story to the Police or to her mother.The mother also agreed that it was possible that the child might not have been telling the truth – but at the same time added: “I was not there, you were not there, only the two children and Pio Teek were there that night.Only God and they know what took place there.”Teek remains free on bail.* In reports on the trial that were published in The Namibian last week, it was erroneously reported that it is alleged that Teek had committed rape by having put a finger into the nine-year-old girl’s private parts.In fact, those allegations relate to the ten-year-old girl.It was also wrongly reported that some minor injuries to the nine-year-old girl’s private parts were detected during a medical examination.In fact, those injuries were discovered on the ten-year-old girl’s private parts.The errors are regretted.Deputy Prosecutor-General Heidi Jacobs, who is conducting the prosecution, has not yet given any indication in open court of when she plans to call them to the witness stand – but it is set to be only once the trial resumes, and the date of that has not yet been set.On Friday, having heard the testimony of the mother of the older of the two children, South African Judge Ronnie Bosielo was asked to postpone the case to May 15, as the five days that had been set aside for the trial had proven not to be enough to finalise the matter.On May 15, the next dates for the continuation of the trial should be set.Shortly before the postponement, Jacobs told the court that her next witnesses would be children who were at the scene in the area of the Katutura Single Quarters where Teek is alleged to have picked up two girls, aged nine and ten, on the evening of January 28 last year.He allegedly took them to his home in the Brakwater area, where the children stayed over until Teek took them back to Katutura the next morning.He is denying allegations that he had abducted or sexually fondled the children, or had committed rape by putting a finger into the private parts of the older girl, while they were with him.Under cross-examination from Richard Metcalfe, who is leading Teek’s defence team, the mother of the ten-year-old girl agreed on Friday that her daughter appeared to have been adding onto her story of what she said had happened while she and her friend were with Teek each time that she retold the story to the Police or to her mother.The mother also agreed that it was possible that the child might not have been telling the truth – but at the same time added: “I was not there, you were not there, only the two children and Pio Teek were there that night.Only God and they know what took place there.”Teek remains free on bail.* In reports on the trial that were published in The Namibian last week, it was erroneously reported that it is alleged that Teek had committed rape by having put a finger into the nine-year-old girl’s private parts.In fact, those allegations relate to the ten-year-old girl.It was also wrongly reported that some minor injuries to the nine-year-old girl’s private parts were detected during a medical examination.In fact, those injuries were discovered on the ten-year-old girl’s private parts.The errors are regretted.