Windhoek: The Grootfontein Magistrate's Court on Tuesday struck from the roll the case in which a teacher, Alexis Awaseb, was accused of molesting schoolchildren at the Wilhelm Nortier Primary School hostel.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the 42-year-old Awaseb was arrested in November last year after allegedly forcing teenage boys at the hostel to touch his private parts. He faced charges of rape, committing an immoral act with a child under the age of 16, bribery, two counts of assault, corruptly using office or position for gratification, two counts of child labour and exploitation of children, and one count of abuse of power or abuse of a position of vulnerability.

Magistrate Adelinu Hailonga struck the matter from the court roll after the State, represented by Prosecutor Anthony Mweti, requested a further postponement to allow for the submission of an outstanding victim trauma impact report. The report was initially scheduled to be presented on 06 May 2026. "Since the start of this case, the accused has made 13 court appearances, and during all these appearances the accused's legal representative has been on record. The court was informed that the last victim is not opening up and that it is not known when a breakthrough will occur. It is not known whether this can happen today, tomorrow, sometime in the future, or it might not happen at all. I believe the person best placed to answer this is the social worker, who was not called by the State to clarify the matter," Hailonga ruled.

The court further held that the State was not ready to proceed and that the accused had been prejudiced as a result. Defence lawyer Murray Shikongo argued that Awaseb's constitutional right to a fair trial, including the right to a trial within a reasonable time, had been infringed. Awaseb has since been refunded his bail of N$2 000.