A Botswana Defence Force (BDF) officer, Major Mmusi Olefile, who is suspected to have raped a colleague’s wife, will be back in court on August 8th for continuation of trial.
The state has alleged that the 36-year-old soldier on March 24th, 2019 at Thebephatshwa Air Base, where he is currently stationed, raped his 33-year-old colleague’s wife.
The accused pilot allegedly gained entry into the woman’s house through a front window and raped the woman.
The incident is said to have occurred when the victim’s husband, who is also a Major, was away studying in Nigeria.
Earlier on, giving evidence before court, Scottish Livingstone Medical Doctor, Merero Ntshesa, had told the court that the victim was “sexually assaulted by a known person and unconsented, and unprotected sex was had at the time. She did not sustain any extra body injury apart from the private part or female genital.”
Dr Ntshesa further explained that the vagina had some laceration on the lateral walls but no active bleeding at that time and that there was traumatic vaginal sexual penetration.
“There was also brownish discharge suggestible of old blood,” said the doctor.
It is alleged that on the fateful day, Olefile and the victim met at a pool party that was held at the camp.
Later on in the morning around 0500hrs, Olefile drove the victim to her home as she was too drunk to drive and allegedly later entered her bedroom through the window to rape her.
Meanwhile, a Botswana Defence Force Military Police Officer, Bush Khudu, 48, had told the court that the victim had suspected being raped when she reported the case to them.
He said when both the victim and the accused were confronted, each of them gave contradictory versions of what happened that night.
“The victim told us that in the morning when she woke up, she found her panty at the ankles with no idea how it ended up there,” Khudu explained.
The court heard that although the alleged rape occurred in the morning, the case was reported late afternoon as the victim had battled the mystery of how she could have been violated until her 24-year-old cousin, Kealeboga Marapo, who was sober when it all happened, told her that the soldier had forced entry into her bedroom.
The pilot’s DNA was, however, not detected on the victim but Molepolole Magistrate, Kefilwe Resheng, scheduled Olefile’s trial for August after ruling that he had a case to answer nonetheless.