Likoro rape appeal ruling today
The ruling of an appeal application by a man convicted of raping a former colleague during an official Swapo Party trip to the Zambezi Region in July 2013, is expected to be made public in the Windhoek High Court today.
After having heard oral submissions by the appellant's defence lawyer Advocate Louis Botes and State Advocate Dominic Lisulo (for the respondent), High Court judges Dinah Usiku and Christie Liebenberg, on 20 November 2017, reserved their judgement on the matter until today for the handing down of the verdict.
In the matter, Vincent Likoro is appealing against the 10-year prison sentence that was imposed on him by the Katima Mulilo Regional Court on 21 January 2016, claiming there was grave misdirection by the court at the time of the judgement and sentencing by Regional Court Magistrate Bongani Ndlovu.
During the hearing last month, Likoro through his privately-instructed defence lawyer, Botes, attacked the manner in which the Regional Court handled the whole proceeding of the trial.
According to Likoro, the trial was not legally handled as per the strict provisions of the Criminal Procedures Act of 1977.
He also claimed that the presiding regional magistrate simply rejected his version of events without allowing proper cross-examination.
Likoro asked the High Court to re-look all the alleged irregularities committed by the Regional Court, saying what transpired in court during trial was not correct at all.
Likoro, a former Swapo regional coordinator, wants the High Court to refer the matter back to the Katima Regional Court to start afresh before another magistrate.
Likoro was in January 2016 sent to jail for 10 years after he was convicted of having had sexual intercourse with a colleague without her consent during a trip to the eastern parts of the country when he was a ministerial advisor in the then Ministry of Lands and Resettlement.
The Katima Mulilo Regional Court on 5 May 2016 granted Likoro bail of N$50 000 to allow him to pursue private business activities and raise money for his appeal hearing.
Bail conditions include reporting to either the Rundu police in the Kavango East Region or the Windhoek police station in the Khomas Region every two weeks.
The respondent is the prosecuting authority.
NAMPA
After having heard oral submissions by the appellant's defence lawyer Advocate Louis Botes and State Advocate Dominic Lisulo (for the respondent), High Court judges Dinah Usiku and Christie Liebenberg, on 20 November 2017, reserved their judgement on the matter until today for the handing down of the verdict.
In the matter, Vincent Likoro is appealing against the 10-year prison sentence that was imposed on him by the Katima Mulilo Regional Court on 21 January 2016, claiming there was grave misdirection by the court at the time of the judgement and sentencing by Regional Court Magistrate Bongani Ndlovu.
During the hearing last month, Likoro through his privately-instructed defence lawyer, Botes, attacked the manner in which the Regional Court handled the whole proceeding of the trial.
According to Likoro, the trial was not legally handled as per the strict provisions of the Criminal Procedures Act of 1977.
He also claimed that the presiding regional magistrate simply rejected his version of events without allowing proper cross-examination.
Likoro asked the High Court to re-look all the alleged irregularities committed by the Regional Court, saying what transpired in court during trial was not correct at all.
Likoro, a former Swapo regional coordinator, wants the High Court to refer the matter back to the Katima Regional Court to start afresh before another magistrate.
Likoro was in January 2016 sent to jail for 10 years after he was convicted of having had sexual intercourse with a colleague without her consent during a trip to the eastern parts of the country when he was a ministerial advisor in the then Ministry of Lands and Resettlement.
The Katima Mulilo Regional Court on 5 May 2016 granted Likoro bail of N$50 000 to allow him to pursue private business activities and raise money for his appeal hearing.
Bail conditions include reporting to either the Rundu police in the Kavango East Region or the Windhoek police station in the Khomas Region every two weeks.
The respondent is the prosecuting authority.
NAMPA
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