High Court upholds 30-year sentence for man convicted of rape

A 32-year-old man from Katima Mulilo will remain behind bars after High Court judges Dinah Uusiku and Naomi Shivute rejected his bid for a lighter sentence following his conviction for rape in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate&#039;s Court in December 2020.Chizamo Sisinzi, 22 at the time of his arrest, was convicted and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on multiple rape charges of a 34-year-old woman nearly five years ago.The woman testified during the trial that on her way home from a night out at a shebeen, she went to a nearby field to relieve herself.While she was urinating, Sisinzi approached her, demanding money that she allegedly owed his father.In their judgment on the appeal, which was heard in the early weeks of April, the justices held that an appeal court may only interfere where the lower court misdirected itself on the facts or the law. In this case, however, they found no such irregularities in the sentencing process.Sisinzi filed an amended notice of appeal, which was drafted on 5 July 2023, two and a half years after he was sentenced.Disputes rape Sisinzi initially based his appeal on the claim that the medical report showed “no obvious signs of sexual assault”.He also argued that the magistrate who convicted him failed to take into account the J88 medical report, which indicated there were no injuries to the victim’s knees and shoulders, despite her claiming she sustained such injuries and that the doctor had recorded them.Furthermore, he pointed out that the victim alleged she was raped twice without a condom, yet the medical report made no mention of any semen being found, which, according to him, cast doubt on the claim of unprotected sexual intercourse.State prosecutor Palmer Kumalo maintained the credibility of his client&#039;s testimony, arguing that for rape to be committed, the accused does not need to ejaculate."The definition of a sexual act in terms of the Combating of Rape Act, 8 of 2000, does not have an element of ejaculation in it," he told the court.Kumalo asked the court to consider that the victim was examined by a doctor on 21 April 2015, nearly a week after she was allegedly raped by Sisinzi.In his determination to secure a lesser sentence or even freedom, Sisinzi filed for leave to appeal the High Court ruling on Monday, seeking the High Court’s permission to have his case heard by the Supreme Court.rita@nmh-hub.com.na

High Court upholds 30-year sentence for man convicted of rape

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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High Court upholds 30-year sentence for man convicted of rape

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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