Sibuku Sibuku

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Charge:	Rape
Sentence:	30 years
Years Imprisoned:	7.33
Year Crime:	2006
Year Convicted:	2008
Year Cleared:	2014
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Namibia
County or Region of Crime:	Zambezi
City of Crime:	Lubasi
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Nalumino Hastin Nawa and Sibuku Sibuku were wrongly convicted in 2006 of raping a 14-year-old girl in Namibia's Zambezi Region on September 19, 2006 when both men were 17. The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of the complainant and her grandfather. Nawa and Sibuku were each sentenced to serve 35 years in prison. In February 2014 the Windhoek High Court reversed the men's convictions on the ground that the complainant's allegations of rape were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt because there are too many unexplained questions that cast doubt on the reliability of the prosecution's two key witnesses. Nawa and Sibuku were not represented by counsel at their trial, and High Court Judge President Petrus Damaseb stated in the Court's ruling, "Cross-examination is a right under our adversarial process, a right owed to both pauper and prince. Given that it is a right, where an accused is unrepresented, it imposes an obligation on the presiding officer to assist the accused to exercise it meaningfully." Judge Damaseb stressed the role of cross-examination is so important that it cannot be downplayed or treated in a perfunctory manner."
Conviction Caused By:	"Unreliable testimony by the prosecution's two key witnesses, the complainant and her grandfather."
Innocence Proved By:	In February 2014 the Windhoek High Court reversed the men's convictions on the ground that the complainant's allegations of rape were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant Aided By:	Attorney Raymond Heathcote SC
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	17
Age When Released:	24
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Rape conviction overturned, By Roland Routh (Staff writer), New Era (Windhoek, Namibia), February 7, 2014"
Information Location 1:	http://www.newera.com.na/2014/02/06/rape-conviction-overturned/
Information Source 2:	"30-year prison terms in Caprivi gang-rape case, By Werner Menges (staff writer), The Namibian (Windhoek, Namibia), December 12, 2008"
Information Location 2:	http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=1669&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=3253
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Sibuku Sibuku

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

30 years

Years Imprisoned:

7.33

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Namibia

County or Region of Crime:

Zambezi

City of Crime:

Lubasi

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Unreliable testimony by the prosecution's two key witnesses, the complainant and her grandfather."

Innocence Proved By:

In February 2014 the Windhoek High Court reversed the men's convictions on the ground that the complainant's allegations of rape were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Defendant Aided By:

Attorney Raymond Heathcote SC

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

17

Age When Released:

24

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Rape conviction overturned, By Roland Routh (Staff writer), New Era (Windhoek, Namibia), February 7, 2014"

Information Location 1:

http://www.newera.com.na/2014/02/06/rape-conviction-overturned/

Information Source 2:

"30-year prison terms in Caprivi gang-rape case, By Werner Menges (staff writer), The Namibian (Windhoek, Namibia), December 12, 2008"

Information Location 2:

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=1669&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=3253

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

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Book Information:

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