WINDHOEK – Windhoek High Court Judge Nate Ndauendapo last week admitted into record the disputed admissions of one of the accused in the murder of 71-year-old Gerhardus Petrus Koekemoer at his house in Outjo on October 25, 2014.
The accused Lourens Aib, 23, denied he told police officers after his arrest about the murder and that he raped a lady that stayed at the house after he strangled her causing her to lose consciousness.
According to him, the investigating officer in the matter told him what to say in the warning statement and he complied out of fear.
Judge Ndauendapo dismissed the objection and admitted the warning statement as well as oral admissions Aib made.
He did not give any reasons and said the reasons for his ruling would be accommodated in his judgement at the end of the trial.
In his warning statement Aib said he, Hendrik Nowoseb, 37, and Ferdinand Angula, 41, were at the latter’s house when Nowoseb said that Koekemoer’s house shop is closing soon and they should go rob the shop.
They then went to the house at around 19h00 and waited for a while outside the yard, he said.
After a while, Aib said, Nowoseb and Hangula went into the yard through a small gate in the boundary wall and he joined them.
Later, he continued, a boervrou (white lady) came out of the house and closed the gate and when she went back inside, they forced their way in after her.
According to Aib, the lady put up a struggle and Nowoseb grabbed her on her arms while Hangula held her around her waist.
They then heard a male voice from inside the house calling out and Nowoseb told him to take hold of the lady’s arms and went towards where the voice came from.
He further said that while he was holding onto the lady she fell down, he was on top of her and she was unconscious. He then lifted up her dress, pulled down her panties and raped her for about two minutes.
“I however did not ejaculate,” Aib told the court.
He further said that Hangula then went to the till, but did not take anything from there and Nowoseb returned and they left the premises.
After they ran for a few metres, Nowoseb shared money between them – he got about N$85, some sweets, cigarettes and recharge vouchers and he went home, Aib said.
Yesterday a police officer, who was stationed at the Outjo police station when the incident occurred, told the judge about a note her received from one of the inmates informing him about another inmate talking about killing a white man.
According to Constable Jeremia Lazarus, he was on duty caring for the prisoners at the Outjo police cells on January 4, 2015 when one of the inmates, named Erwin Khumub, approached him and told him about a man in his cell who spoke about killing a white man.
He told Khumub to write down the information on a piece of paper and that he would hand the note over to the investigation officer.
Lazarus further said that Khumub gave him the note at a later stage and he called Detective Chief Inspector Deon Marais in Otjiwarongo the next morning to inform him about the note.
He went on to say that Marais arrived at around 11h15 the same day and he handed the note over to him.
He further informed the court that Khumub told him that one of his cellmates, he identified as Hendrik Nowoseb, told him that he was not worried about the case of a girl he stabbed to death, but about a case in which he killed a white man.
Nowoseb was already sentenced to 44 years imprisonment for the murder of his former girlfriend whom he stabbed to death in her hospital bed after he had stabbed her the previous evening.
All three men denied guilt to charges of murder, attempted murder, rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances at the start of their trial. Apollos Shimakeleni represents Angula, Vanessa Kauta is for Aib and Natji Tjirera is on record for Nowoseb.