RAPE PAIN

 

Forced sex continues to be the most popular offence in the country so much that Botswana is listed among countries with the highest number of recorded rape cases.

The crime is so prevalent that even husbands sexually abuse their wives, fathers fondle and impregnate their own daughters, while mothers sell their children to men for money.

The children are taken out of school to please men and end up falling pregnant. With such cases, the irresponsible parents are never cooperative, they hide details from the police, making it hard to find justice for the underage abused children.

This week, the police revealed that since the beginning of this year to September, more than 3 000 people have been raped in Botswana and here are some of the stories that are part of the police statistics.

- Man rapes two women, washes off his semen from their vajayjays

A man attacked women in their homes late at night and proceeded to rape them. The man terrorised Semotswane village, which is less than five kilometres from Tonota. In just one month, Police registered two separate cases in which the man used a crowbar to forcibly enter the homes of two women. After gaining entry into the house, the man demanded that they give him money, failure to do so, they pay with their private parts. What the police gathered is that the perpetrator always covered his face, making it hard for victims to identify him. It seems he first studied the movements of his targets before coming for them. He demanded money first and if one did not have it, they paid by having sex with him. The suspect did not only rape his victims, he also washed his semen from their vaginas in an effort to eliminate evidence. It is alleged that when the women were raped, condoms were not used.

-Woman wakes up to discover she was raped

A beer drinking spree that spilled into the early hours of morning turned sour for a 23-year-old Mmathubudukwane woman who ended up being sexually abused by unknown men. The young woman had left home for partying with her female cousin. The two women partied until morning and when they realised that it was already late, they decided to hustle for a lift home. The two drunk female revellers were offered a lift by two unknown men from Sikwane. The woman's cousin was taken home safely, while the eventual rape victim fell asleep inside the car. Upon waking up after a few hours, she found that she was naked and had been raped.

- Man rapes three-year-old toddler

Belm Oba (30), is accused of raping a three-year-old child at Charles Hill. The suspect was left to care for the baby only for him to allegedly take advantage of the minor. The biological mother had reportedly abandoned the child and left her in the care of another woman, who turned out to be Oba’s lover. So both Oba and the woman were left as guardians of the three-year-old. As investigations continued, it emerged that Oba may have been raping the minor on repeated occasions. The child was taken to the hospital and tests conducted. Police successfully managed to locate the mother of the child and she was slapped with a charge of child neglect for leaving her child and only resurfacing after the unfortunate incident occurred. Charles Hill police shared that in 2022, they recorded nine rape and four defilement cases.

- Woman awakes, finds rapist on top of her

A 22-year-old Botho University student woke up from a deep sleep to find a middle-aged man having sex with her in Phakalane, Gaborone. The victim who claims she never agreed to the act, resides in Gaborone Phase 4. Details of the incident are that on that evening, the victim along with a group of friends decided to visit the Temple Lodge in Gaborone Block 9, to hang over drinks. Upon arriving at the lodge, three men invited them to their table. After a few drinks, three men left with the victim, who reported to the police that she passed out after she hopped inside the vehicle, on suspicions that her drink was spiked. The victim managed to gain strength the next morning at 6am, finding herself naked with one of the three men she met at the lodge, having sex with her. Without having a clue on what could have happened the previous night, the stranded victim, reported the matter to Broadhurst police later that afternoon. The suspect had given her a lift to Westgate mall that morning.

-Teenager gang-raped in Khakhea

Two young men aged 20 and 21 years from Baope ward in Khakhea village are suspected to have gang-raped a 19-year-old girl. The victim stays in the same village, at Motsumi ward. Details of the incident are that the teenager was returning home from a bar and the two followed her. She realised that she was being followed by two young men that she identified from the same bar she had been at earlier, but never suspected that they would harm her. The duo finally caught up with her and grabbed her aggressively pulling her to the home of one of the suspects, where they gang-raped her without using condoms.

- Man in court for raping step daughter

A 35-year-old man of Sekhutlane village, Ontibile Khumanego is suspected to have raped his 11-year-old step-daughter. Khumanego sat inside court wearing a blue t-shirt hoping to be granted bail. He was locked up a month ago after being denied bail. Details of the incident before court are that on July 28, in Sekhutlane, the accused person, Khumanego, was sleeping in a room with his now ex-girlfriend and her 11-year-old step-daughter. Upon waking up, the girlfriend noticed that her child was raped and reported the incident to the police.

-Underage girl impregnated by her pregnant mother's lover

A 14y-ear-old form one student of Tsetsebjwe Junior Secondary School in the Bobirwa district has been impregnated by her mother’s boyfriend. The student is four-months pregnant and her 37-year-old abuser has been remanded in custody. The case was reported to police by concerned neighbours. It appears the child was defiled from long back but the matter was only reported to the police this year. It is alleged that the 14-year-old had long told her mother that she was being abused, but the mother ignored her. It is alleged that the abuser gave the underage girl P10 each time he slept with her. The mother was allegedly worried that there would be no one to feed them if the suspect was reported. He said they know the mother well, as she has a case of ‘corruption of children' in which she is accused of beating her children for telling out on an abuser. In Bobirwa, parents allegedly prioritise food over their children, such are sad issues the police deal with in Bobirwa.

Recently, they received another report about an underage girl who was sent away by parents to a witchdoctor to perform some ritual practices on her. She has now returned six months pregnant. Both the mother and child refuse to name the witchdoctor and the police are struggling to crack the case. Meanwhile, sources close to the matter of the Form One student at Tsetsebjwe Junior School have informed The Midweek Sun that the mother of the student is also heavily pregnant and the father is her daughter’s abuser. He had allegedly impregnated both mother and daughter. Allegations are that that the child informed the police that she long told her about the man sleeping with both of them and the mother got angry at her. This is why concerned neighbours reported the matter.

'All these are defilement cases. The girls are being abused by older men. Parents care less about their children in this area. “The girl told her mother and she was told to keep quiet. We hear she was angry even when this came out, stating that they are both pregnant and she wonders who will take care of their unborn babies,' the teacher said.

Meanwhile, the government is doing all it can to deal with increasing numbers of rape and defilement. This is why this year, Botswana managed to successfully amend the Penal Code and put in place stiffer penalties for sexual offences. The amended laws make provision for compensation of victims of sexual offences and also criminalise false allegations of sexual offences. Rape and defilement are topping crime lists locally with statistics revealing that by end of 2022, 4 500 women had been raped countrywide, an increase of 400 cases from 2021. According to a communique from the Ministry of Justice sent to the police, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Administration of Justice, Minister of Justice Machana Shamukuni signed the statutory instrument commencing Act No.27 of 2021 on the 12th September 2023.

This means that once found guilty, rapists will be sentenced to a minimum term of 20 years’ imprisonment from the initial 10 years, or to a maximum term of life imprisonment. And if it is found that the act of rape was attended by violence, the minimum sentence increases to 25 years in prison from 15.

Furthermore, the rapist shall be required to undergo a test for HIV/AIDS and if found to be positive and they deliberately infected their victim, they will be sentenced to a minimum of 30 years from 20 in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment with corporal punishment. The law also says in cases where a person convicted of the act of rape is found to be a parent or guardian, a repeat offender or the victim is a minor, person with disability, the minimum sentence is 30 years in prison.

Moreover, judges may in addition to whatever punishment they award order the guilty person to pay the victim by taking into account the pain and suffering of the victim, mental injury and cost of medical treatment. Any person who makes false allegations suggesting that someone committed a sexual offence is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years. The new laws have also been enhanced to ensure that brothels remain illegal in Botswana. Any person who is found guilty of persuading anyone to engage in unlawful carnal connection either in Botswana or elsewhere, or even persuade them to leave Botswana for the purposes of prostitution or become an inmate of a brothel will be charged a fine of P500 000 or sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison.