A rape suspect, accused of raping a 19-year-old girl has been discharged and acquitted by the Maun magistrates court.
The 54-year-old man was accused to have on August, 16th 2019 at Disaneng Ward entered into the complainant’s room where he got under her blankets while she was asleep and inserted his manhood into her private parts. The victim is said to have thereafter went and reported the incident to the police.
When delivering ruling on Tuesday, Maun Chief Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalu explained that the prosecution was required to establish whether the sexual intercourse occurred and also as to whether it was without the consent of the complainant.
Mulalu however noted that a testimony from a medical officer who examined the complainant following the alleged incident revealed that there was no sign of a forced sexual intercourse.
He further noted that the opinion from the Forensic Scientist revealed that no male DNA was obtained from the complainant’s genital swabs and evidence on her body relating to the accused person.
Furthermore, the chief magistrate stated that the accused person has in his defence argued that the complainant during trial did not state whether he had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. Mulalu added that the defense further argued that words were forced out of the complainant’s mouth during trial and that there was no scientific evidence linking him to the offence.
According to Mulalu, there should be a specific averment on the side of the prosecution that sexual intercourse that allegedly occurred was without consent of the complainant however he noted that in the matter at hand there was no such.
In addition, the chief magistrate noted that the complainant was a very difficult witness during trial highlighting that it took a lot of coaxing to get her to testify. He added that the complainant even said she forgot what she had initially reported to the police.
In conclusion it was Mulalu’s consideration that the prosecution failed to prove an essential element of the offence of rape relating to consent.
“It is on the basis of the foregoing that I conclude that the prosecution failed to prove whether the sexual intercourse was agreed upon by the complainant and this consequently leads to my decision that the accused person has no case to answer for. He is accordingly acquitted and discharged,” Mulalu ruled.
