A Windhoek resident accused of carrying out several violent attacks on women and pre-teen girls has been found guilty on 14 charges, including three counts of rape and three counts of attempted rape, after a protracted trial in the High Court.
Judge Dinnah Usiku convicted the man, Gavin Gawanab (31), in a judgement delivered in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility on Monday.
Gawanab was found guilty on two charges of rape, a count of housebreaking and rape, three counts of attempted rape, two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, four counts of assault by threat, one charge of kidnapping and one count of crimen injuria.
The crimes were committed in December 2012, May 2013, September 2015, September 2016, April 2017 and October 2018.
Usiku found that it was proven that Gawanab attempted to rape a minor girl at a farm in the Daan Viljoen Game Reserve area west of Windhoek on 22 December 2012.
The judge also found that the state proved Gawanab raped a six-year-old girl after breaking into a room at her mother’s home in Windhoek on 26 September 2015. Usiku found as well that it was proven that Gawanab kidnapped and attempted to rape a woman in Windhoek on 2 September 2016, raped a woman in the Havana area of Windhoek on 29 April 2017, and raped a nine-year-old girl in the Daan Viljoen Game Reserve area on 26 October 2018.
Gawanab stood trial on 23 charges, but was acquitted on nine of the counts, including four charges of attempted murder and three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Gawanab’s trial started before Usiku in February 2021, when he denied guilt on all of the charges.
He was arrested near the end of October 2018, and has been kept in custody since then.
He is due to return to court on 18 August for a presentence hearing. State advocate Palmer Kumalo is representing the prosecution.
Gawanab is being represented by defence lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji.
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