Rape and incest-accused former Parliamentarian Steve Biko Booys, whose bail application was denied four times at the lower courts, has turned to the Windhoek High Court with hopes of regaining his freedom.
The High Court will deliver its judgement on Booys’ plea for freedom on Friday.
The former Okahandja regional councillor has been in custody since his arrest in 2021.
Biko Booys was an outspoken regional councillor, and he became a member of parliament on the ticket of the Swapo party, with a seat in the upper house.
He became infamous at the start of 2021 after allegations implicating him of rape and incest surfaced.
Booys is accused of sexually violating his then-20-year-old biological daughter on two different occasions at his house in Okahandja, allegations he has denied.
The state is also alleging that the complainant was raped while she was under the influence of liquor or a substance that mentally incapacitated her.
The Windhoek Regional Court said the DNA reports linked Booys to the rape allegations, making the state’s case against him stronger.
In March this year, Magistrate Victor Nyazo said that although Booys has indicated his intention of challenging the DNA report, it does not take away the strong evidence in the state’s docket that awaits him at trial.
The magistrate further said that the evidence in the state’s docket shows that the probability of the accused being convicted is not a remote possibility, but it is likely.
In his appeal, Booys states that the magistrate who denied him bail allegedly allowed the bail hearing to continue on hearsay evidence led by the state.
He argues that although the prosecution was in possession of vital documents, such as medical reports of the complainant, the complainant’s statement and transcripts of messages allegedly exchanged between him and the complainant, the magistrate gave no consideration at all to the fact that the only mode of communication between him and the complainant was the alleged but not proven or admitted SMS messages.
Booys is a resident of the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial-awaiting offenders.
Leave a Reply