Prince Clovis O and Anik N, these two boys aged 6 and 5 years respectively, made Jean-Baptiste Mbity, a Gabonese in his late forties, spend 4 years in the premises of the Port-Gentil remand center commonly known as the castle, for rape following damning statements. It was in the village of Ikiri not far from the commune of Omboué that the events took place in November 2020. These toddlers, following the arrival of their mother, Herline Mboudji, recounted the horror that Jean-Baptiste Mbity subjected them to their grandmother’s spouse. For them, Jean-Baptiste Mbity waited patiently for his concubine and his daughter-in-law to leave to force the little ones to have sodomy. According to versions of the facts, he forced the kids to suck his penis and even lick his anus.
The kids still revealed to their mother that they were taken by force at every opportunity, and that if one of the two sulked, he was copiously corrected for refusing to comply. What’s more, they were gagged by their executioner to prevent them from raising the alarm. On horseback, they abused them every time the opportunity presented itself, seeing as he had ordered the kids not to say anything to anyone. Based on the above, the boys were brought before a sworn doctor, and the medical certificate revealed acts of sodomy. Herline Mboudji immediately decided to file a complaint once morest Jean-Baptiste Mbity. Arrested by the gendarmerie brigade, and questioned during the preliminary investigation, Jean-Baptiste Mbity completely refuted the accusations once morest him.
On December 29 of the same year, the father was placed under arrest warrant at Port-Gentil prison, for rape of a minor under 18 years old and indecent exposure. With the investigating magistrate, the memory of Jean-Baptiste Mbity had not lost its freshness given that he fought the said facts which weighed on him. To get rid of this problem once and for all, he asked the judge for a medical re-examination through his lawyer to be able to demonstrate that he was not responsible for the aforementioned crime. The examination indicated the absence of traces of violence. At the hearing at the bar, even if the public prosecutor demanded the guilt of the accused and his sentencing to a sentence of 20 years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 FCFA francs, Jean-Baptiste denied one last time publicly the accusations made once morest him.
“The medical certificates placed in the file, which date from two weeks following the events, were absolutely inconclusive. We are not immune from this type of lawsuit. Leaving your child today in the hands of a third person is unfortunately taking a risk,” thinks Mr. Dominique O’ngonwou Dossou, the court-appointed lawyer.
At the end of the hearing, Jean-Baptiste Mbity was simply acquitted with the benefit of the doubt, as his lawyer argued during the criminal hearing.
For Me Dominique O’ngonwou Dossou, “yes I am very satisfied with the decision that was rendered, because this type of case is commonplace. And when justice is done in this way we are all happy.”
The lifting of the committal warrant issued once morest him was ordered. Jean-Baptiste is free 4 years later with the benefit of the doubt.
Jean Jacques Rovaria Djodji
2024-04-22 13:23:18
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