Windhoek
A Gobabis farm resident, who admitted to causing the death of his common-law wife but denied killing her at a farm in the district, is disputing the admissibility of a pointing out of a crime scene to the police shortly after his arrest.
Paulus Shilongo, 32, caused quite a stir when he told the court he wants to plead guilty for causing the death of Dina Eises, but denies killing her when he pleaded to the charges. According to him, he admits the beating he gave her caused her death, but denies he intended to kill her or foresaw that his actions could kill her.
Trevor Brockerhoff, who was appointed by Legal Aid to represent Shilongo, told Judge Dinah Usiku it was his instructions that Shilongo wanted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide, but the State refused to accept such a plea.
The judge then entered a plea of not guilty and the trial commenced, but was almost immediately halted when Brockerhoff objected to the admission of a pointing out made by Shilongo.
He told the court his client was not informed of his right to have a legal representative present when he made admissions or pointing out.
According to Brockerhoff, his client is not knowledgeable of the law and was not aware he could refuse to participate in the pointing out or had the right to have a legal representative present.
Henry Muhongo, who appears on behalf of the State, called the police officers who conducted the pointing out of the scene and they testified that they explained his rights to him, including the right to refuse and to have his legal practitioner present, but Shilongo insisted he wanted to show them what and where it happened.
Judge Usiku indicated that she will deliver her ruling on the admissibility of the pointing out tomorrow, February 17.
The State alleges Shilongo intentionally killed Eises, with whom he was in a domestic relationship, by continuously assaulting her with various objects including stones and a plastic pipe during the night of November 8 to 9, 2012.
According to the indictment Shilongo assaulted Eises by pushing, kicking and slapping her, tearing off her clothes, hitting and throwing her with stones on her head and hitting her with a plastic pipe on November 8, 2012 on Farm Tredgold in the Gobabis District.
It is further stated in the indictment that Shilongo dragged the deceased to their shack, situated at a cattle post on neighbouring Farm Geluk, where the assault continued into the early morning hours of November 9, 2012.
The deceased died as a result of the head injuries caused by the assault. The accused covered her body with a blanket inside the shack before locking the shack from the outside with a chain and padlock and fleeing the scene, the indictment reads.
Shilongo remains in custody.