Windhoek
A man who allegedly killed the child of his girlfriend and then the girlfriend after he was released on bail made a second pre-trial appearance before Judge President Petrus Damaseb on Thursday.
Sageus Somaeb, who will be represented by lawyer Willem Visser on instructions from the Directorate of Legal Aid, was informed that his trial would be presided over by Judge Alfred Siboleka.
Damaseb remanded his case to July 29 for allocation of trial dates.
Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef will prosecute.
Somaeb faces two charges of murder, two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and one count of defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.
It is alleged that Somaeb killed six-year-old Remember Gaingob during the period May 15 to 16, 2009, in Outjo and while out on bail on that charge killed the mother of the child Charlotte Gaingos.
The assault charges relate to an incident when he allegedly hit the little boy all over his body with a piece of wire on May 29, 2009, as well as when he allegedly threw a stone at Gaingos fracturing one of her ribs.
The charge of defeating the course of justice relates to an incident where Somaeb allegedly disposed of pieces of carpet with blood stains on them and tampered or cleaned up the scene where the boy was killed and reporting to the police that the child died suddenly after complaining of a headache.
According to the summary of substantial facts in the indictment, the accused and the deceased in count two were in a domestic relationship and lived together.
On May 23, 2009, the accused hit the deceased in count 1 with a wire all over his body and the deceased in count two reported the matter to the police where after the police warned the accused not to beat the little boy anymore, the indictment reads.
It further says that during May 15 and May 16, 2013, Gaingos left her child in the care of the accused at her residence in Soweto Location in Outjo.
During this period, the accused hit and/or suffocated the little boy, who died as a result of asphyxia, and defeated the course of justice, according to the document.
The summary went on that during February to March 2013, Somaeb threw a stone at Gaingos, which fractured one of her ribs.
On July 31, while Gaingos was at the house of a friend in Soweto Location, the accused who was on bail for the murder of the child, came there and stabbed her at least 21 times with a knife where after he fled the scene.
Gaingos died on the scene due to hypovolemic shock caused by the stab wounds.