Young men jailed for Ariamsvlei gang rape

SENTENCES totalling 60 years’ imprisonment were yesterday handed to two young men who convicted of gang-raping a woman at Ariamsvlei in the Karas Region near the end of 2004.

Crimes that they committed when they were still 18 years old and at school landed Benjamin Swartbooi and Bernard Rooi with effective jail terms of 15 years each after their sentencing in the High Court in Windhoek. Rooi (22) and Swartbooi, who turns 22 next week, were convicted on September 19 on two charges of rape each in connection with an incident in which a woman in her early twenties was raped by each of them at Ariamsvlei on the evening of December 9 2004.Finding no convincing reasons to deviate from the minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment that the Combating of Rape Act of 2000 prescribes for a gang rape of this sort, Acting Judge John Manyarara sentenced Swartbooi and Rooi each to a 15-year jail term on each of the two charges that they were convicted of.Acting Judge Manyarara however ordered that the two sentences should run together, with the two young men effectively each receiving a 15-year prison term.Swartbooi and Rooi denied the charges against them, but did not testify in their own defence during their trial.Relying on testimony from the complainant who laid the charges against them, as well as evidence from a couple who came to the woman’s rescue after they had heard her screaming for help, Acting Judge Manyarara convicted the two suspects as charged almost three weeks ago.During the trial the court heard that the woman had been at a shebeen at Ariamsvlei with Swartbooi and Rooi on the evening of the incident.The three of them left the shebeen together to return home, but on the way, Swartbooi called the woman aside and told her that he wanted to have sex with her, the court heard.She suggested that they should rather continue on their way home, and that they could then proceed to have intercourse in the comfort of their home.Swartbooi would have none of that, though.He responded by slapping the woman, and then undressed her.With the assistance of Rooi, he then raped her.After he had done that, he held the woman down as Rooi took his turn raping her.The woman managed to run for safety when she heard the voices of people approaching.She was still half naked when she found them and got help from them.Swartbooi and Rooi had in the meantime also run off.The way they had treated the woman was “brutal and shameful”, Acting Judge Manyarara commented with the sentencing.He remarked that they had taken advantage of the woman’s “less than sober” state at the time of the incident.In his view, this is an aggravating factor, Acting Judge Manyarara said.Noting that no injuries were found on the woman after the incident, indicating that the force used against her was not that great, Acting Judge Manyarara also recounted that she had at one point tried to withdraw the charges against the two young men, indicating that she had forgiven them.Still, the prevalence of rape and other abuses of women and girls in Namibia is a reality, he said.Through the sentences it imposes, the court should not break the two offenders, but aim to make them become better citizens, Acting Judge Manyarara remarked.State advocate Dominic Lisulo conducted the prosecution against Swartbooi and Rooi, who were both represented by defence lawyer Winnie Christians, on instructions from the Directorate of Legal Aid.Rooi (22) and Swartbooi, who turns 22 next week, were convicted on September 19 on two charges of rape each in connection with an incident in which a woman in her early twenties was raped by each of them at Ariamsvlei on the evening of December 9 2004.Finding no convincing reasons to deviate from the minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment that the Combating of Rape Act of 2000 prescribes for a gang rape of this sort, Acting Judge John Manyarara sentenced Swartbooi and Rooi each to a 15-year jail term on each of the two charges that they were convicted of.Acting Judge Manyarara however ordered that the two sentences should run together, with the two young men effectively each receiving a 15-year prison term.Swartbooi and Rooi denied the charges against them, but did not testify in their own defence during their trial.Relying on testimony from the complainant who laid the charges against them, as well as evidence from a couple who came to the woman’s rescue after they had heard her screaming for help, Acting Judge Manyarara convicted the two suspects as charged almost three weeks ago.During the trial the court heard that the woman had been at a shebeen at Ariamsvlei with Swartbooi and Rooi on the evening of the incident.The three of them left the shebeen together to return home, but on the way, Swartbooi called the woman aside and told her that he wanted to have sex with her, the court heard.She suggested that they should rather continue on their way home, and that they could then proceed to have intercourse in the comfort of their home.Swartbooi would have none of that, though.He responded by slapping the woman, and then undressed her.With the assistance of Rooi, he then raped her.After he had done that, he held the woman down as Rooi took his turn raping her.The woman managed to run for safety when she heard the voices of people approaching.She was still half naked when she found them and got help from them.Swartbooi and Rooi had in the meantime also run off.The way they had treated the woman was “brutal and shameful”, Acting Judge Manyarara commented with the sentencing.He remarked that they had taken advantage of the woman’s “less than sober” state at the time of the incident.In his view, this is an aggravating factor, Acting Judge Manyarara said.Noting that no injuries were found on the woman after the incident, indicating that the force used against her was not that great, Acting Judge Manyarara also recounted that she had at one point tried to withdraw the charges against the two young men, indicating that she had forgiven them.Still, the prevalence of rape and other abuses of women and girls in Namibia is a reality, he said.Through the sentences it imposes, the court should not break the two offenders, but aim to make them become better citizens, Acting Judge Manyarara remarked.State advocate Dominic Lisulo conducted the prosecution against Swartbooi and Rooi, who were both represented by defence lawyer Winnie Christians, on instructions from the Directorate of Legal Aid.