Magistrate Marilize du Plessis of the Otjiwarongo Regional Court on Wednesday sentenced 33-year-old Nandago Araeb to an effective 20 years in prison after he was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl in December 2016.

The incident happened on 18 December 2016 after Araeb lured the girl on the pretence that he owed N.dollars 400 to her mother and had to walk with her to return the money.

During the trial, it came out that Araeb approached the girl while she was in the Orwetoveni Savemore Supermarket, where she had been sent to buy bread and butter at about 18h00 that evening.

After the perpetrator convinced the girl to walk with her, he later grabbed and dragged her into the bushes, where he reportedly raped her.

Araeb allegedly used the girl’s clothes to cover her mouth in order to prevent her from screaming for help.

After he was done, he then instructed her to go home and take a shower silently.

The aunt who had sent her to the supermarket was also looking around and met her coming from a street corner limping and crying, witnesses and the girl testified in court.

The girl then told her aunt of the incident and she was taken to the hospital where it was also confirmed that she had been raped.

The child gave a description of her perpetrator and it matched the footage which was retrieved by police from closed-circuit television (CCTV) at the supermarket.

Araeb was arrested in February 2017 at Grootfontein and was represented during trial by lawyers from the Legal Aid Directorate under the Ministry of Justice.

The state was represented by Prosecutor Anna Amukugo, who asked for a heavy sentence, citing the cruel nature of the act Araeb performed on the defenceless and vulnerable girl child.

Amukugo also cited the prevalence of rape in Namibia as enough grounds for sentencing Araeb in order to send a message to those who would think of committing the same offence.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency