BY SAPT STAFF
THE eagerly anticipated judgment in the case involving a couple accused of collaborating to rape a girl in Ngella, Central Islands Province, has been rescheduled for December 8, 2023.
Despite the initial plan to deliver the judgment yesterday, the proceedings were thwarted by the absence of the accused couple.
High Judge Justice Leonard Maina emphasized that the court would refrain from delivering the judgment in the absence of the defendants.
Justice Maina directed the prosecution to summon the defendants to ensure their appearance on the upcoming court date.
The accused individuals, George Solopoto and Elizabeth Koka, are facing charges related to compelled sexual intercourse stemming from an incident on July 1, 2017, at a beach in Ngella.
Despite entering not guilty pleas, a trial was conducted to address the allegations against them.
According to the prosecution, Koka solicited the alleged victim’s parents, requesting the girl’s company to accompany the couple to another village for the conclusion of a traditional 10-day mourning period. On the fateful day, the trio visited the village, and later that night, the couple allegedly took the girl to an isolated beach.
It is alleged that at the beach, Koka assisted her husband by holding the victim’s hands while he committed the crime. Their actions were reportedly interrupted by a passerby with a torchlight, prompting a halt to the illicit activity.
After the incident, the trio returned to the village from the beach. The court heard that the victim used Koka’s mobile phone, provided to her as a makeshift torch, to report the matter to her aunt due to the darkness of the night.
Subsequently, the incident was reported to the police on August 3, 2017, leading to an investigation and the subsequent arrest of the couple on August 5. Public Prosecutor John Wesley Zoze is representing the crown in this case.
