The psychiatric reports for a former Global Fund employee accused of killing his supervisor and wounding another ex-colleague are ready and were submitted to court this week.
Simataa Simasiku (34) was sent to undergo two mental observations, one by a private psychiatrist and one by a State psychiatrist by court order.
However, when the reports were to be discussed on Wednesday, the court heard that defence counsel Vernon Lutibezi, who appears for Simasiku on instructions of legal aid, did not have insight into the reports as yet and Windhoek High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg who is presiding over the matter postponed the case to 26 October for a status hearing.
The next hearing will be for the judge and the lawyers to determine trial dates and possibly determine the admissibility or not of the reports.
Simasiku is charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, alternatively negligent discharge of a firearm and discharging of a firearm in public.
The charges emanate from a shooting incident on January 28 last year when Simasiku walked into the offices of Global Fund at the City Centre and fired off five shots, one of which killed his boss, Sarah Lungowe Mwilima, and another seriously wounding Ester Ndahekelekwa Nepolo, a colleague of his.
During a subsequent bail application Simasiku said that he acted in self-defence when he fired the shots, but stopped short of explaining, only saying: “The truth will be revealed during the trial.”
Simasiku remains in custody after his bail application was refused by magistrate Vanessa Stanley.
Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef is prosecuting.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na