Teacher gets 10 years for rape

Lebogang Mosikare | Monday March 23, 2015 15:41

 

The perpetrator, Jacob Gumiro, was a teacher at Skillshare International School while the complainant is a cleaner there.

Giving the sentence, Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi said that he took into account that the accused was a first offender and is diabetic.

Basupi further said that the accused was a married man and has children that he is taking care of.

“Offences of rape as stipulated in the penal code are serious.  As it appeared in the evidence placed before court, the accused used force when he committed the offence.  It is the duty of the courts to protect women from any form of violence including rape.  I found no exceptional extenuating circumstances that may have led the accused to commit the offence,” said Basupi.

He added that Gumiro’s case is a clear one of a senior abusing his juniour.

“Evidence before court showed that the accused continued to intimidate the complainant after the matter was reported to the police.  It did not ring any alarm to the accused when the complainant told him that she did not like what he was doing to her.  The court is therefore enjoined to pass a sentence that will act as a deterrent to would-be offenders in future,” said Basupi.

Basupi said that the complainant stated that Gumiro had intimated love overtures towards her, which she declined.

“She said that at times the accused would approach her and tell her to come and ‘kiss him and do it’, but she refused since she knew his wife. She also said that at one point she contemplated quitting her job because the accused was vigorously pursuing her,” said Basupi, adding that she then started recording the conversations she had with Gumiro on her cellphone.

Furthermore, Basupi said that the complainant told the court that during the day the offence was committed, she was sitting next to a toilet near a box full of condoms.

“The complainant said that Gumiro told her to bring two condoms in order for them to have sex, but she told him that she did not want.  She said that nobody was present at that time and Gumiro pushed her inside the toilet and started to undress her.  He subsequently had sex with her without her consent.  She said that she did not resist because she was afraid of the accused,” said Basupi.The magistrate stated that the complainant told the court that after Gumiro finished having sex with her, he gave her a condom to dispose of, but she went with it to the police.

He added:“I am, however worried, because the condom and examination kit that was used to examine the complainant somehow got lost at the police station under mysterious circumstances.”

Basupi said that Gumiro said in his defence that he proposed love to the complainant, but she initially denied, but later accepted on condition that nobody knows of the relationship because he was married.

“He also denied kissing the complainant and having sex with her without her consent because he was mindful of the consequences of doing so.  He also said that during that fateful day there were other people who were present and there was noway he could have raped her in their presence. It should be noted that at one point during trial the accused through his attorney applied for the case to be withdrawn because the condom and examination kit was lost. ” said Basupi.

“I found the complainant to be a credible witness who did not contradict herself when giving evidence while the accused did (give contradictory evidence). He is therefore guilty of the offence as charged,” said Basupi.