Helena Johannes
A Windhoek man was arrested on Tuesday for repeatedly raping his now 16-year-old daughter since she was 11 years old. Rape cases or the reporting of rape cases are on the rise in Namibia.
According to the City Police the female victim, during the five year period, has had two abortions due to the abuse at the hands of her biological father.
The arrest comes after the victim’s mother found out the rape and opened a case, resulting in the father’s arrest.
In another incident, a 13-year-old was raped by her aunt’s husband in Khomasdal on Tuesday.
According to the City Police, the 40-year-old male suspect is reported to have fled from the house when he was caught by the wife and was later found dead after hanging himself in the Van Rhyn riverbed.
Superintendent Eliazer Iiyambo of the City Police said child rape cases (or the report of such cases) have been on the rise in the country during the month of September.
“Crimes went up since Thursday with more rape cases being recorded, and it is a worrying issue as this kind of incident is being done by close relatives behind closed doors,” he said.
“Most of the cases reported are committed by housemates or close relatives. Children mostly tend to not report violence against them. This is why most cases are being reported after years or months.”
Iiyambo, however, attributed the country’s economic conditions for a spike in some gruesome crimes and theft cases. Though this is no excuse for selfish, violent criminality, he stated that many people have lost their jobs and have been left in a desperate situation.
“When it comes to minors’ rape cases, economical issues are not the major contributing factor as it is mostly close relatives who have been accused,” he said.
This comes as Gert Skrywer made his second appearance in the Rehoboth magistrate Court Tuesday on charges of raping his 2 week old daughter to death in July this year. It follows another vicious incident which occurred in the Havana informal settlement, where an intruder killed a 29-year-old man who was trying to protect his sister as the man was raping her.
Iiyambo said according to the 2019/2020 crime reports, crimes in Namibia have been decreasing with property crimes down 19 percent and violent crime down 27 percent compared with the year before.
