Accused rapist maintains innocence
A former council candidate for Alliance for Progressives (AP) accused of raping his 12-year-old cousin insists the young girl dreamt the whole thing.
Protesting his innocence before Maun Magistrate Court this Monday, Taujorauvi Maekopo, 25, maintained the complainant had confused her dream with reality.
Testifying about the June 2016 incident, the accused rapist told court, “She said she felt it in her dream.
“I never raped her and when she woke up I was not on top of her as alleged. She found me sleeping in the other room and she stopped by the entrance and started accusing me of raping her. I did not know what she was talking about!”
Giving his version of events, Maekopo said he had gone round to the complainant’s house earlier in the day to seek money for toiletries.
However, when he arrived he discovered the parents were out of town, leaving their three daughters under the supervision of an older cousin.
He claimed he was convinced to stay the night by the cousin as she wanted to go out partying.
“She told me that the girls like crowding on one bed and said I should take an extra mattress from the room I was given to sleep in so that another girl can sleep on it,” stated Maekopo, who was a pupil at Maun Secondary School at the time of the alleged rape.
According to the suspect, after the girls had fallen asleep, when he was about to retire to bed at around 11pm, he woke the complainant up and made her move to the mattress.
Moments later, Maekopo says he saw the girl coming from the toilet.
“She stood by my door and asked me what I had done to her. I told her I did not know what she was talking about and she said, ‘you know what you have done to me,’ and said she was going to tell her parents about it. In the morning she told the others about her accusations and I told them it was not true!”
Continuing his defence, Maekopo explained he was due back at school that day as it was a Sunday and he was a boarding student. At school he received permission to return home to attend to the matter.
Maekopo told court that upon his arrival, he found the parents were back and the girl’s father furiously demanded to know what he had done.
The accused claimed his uncle used a sjambok to whip a ‘confession’ out of him.
“I ended up telling him I raped her because I wanted the whipping to stop. From there I went to lodge an assault case at the police station. I told the police I was whipped because I was being accused of rape.”
However, Maekopo says whilst he was at the police station, the girl’s parents arrived with their daughter to open a rape case against him.
Maekopo also told court he suspects the girl’s parents are forcing her to maintain the allegations as vengeance for a previous fallout.
“I used to stay with them but they kicked me out following an incident that happened between me and her mother. She used my school money and when I demanded the money a conflict erupted. To date they still have my money. Maybe this case is a way of getting their daughter to send me to prison!” speculated the one-time Gumare-Tubu South council hopeful.
For her part, the now 16-year-old complainant maintained before court that Maekopo removed her from the bed, took off her pajamas and panties and raped her.
She further contended she woke up and found Maekopo half naked on top of her.
It has been her word against Maekopo’s as no one else witnessed the alleged rape. The complainant’s sister had initially claimed to have seen the suspect on top of her sibling but later withdraw her testimony and admitted she made it up to try and get Maekopo to admit his guilt.
Additionally, a medical doctor giving evidence for the prosecution, told court it was impossible to determine whether the girl had been raped our not.
Judgment on the matter has been set for 26 January 2021.
