Windhoek
The trial in which three City Police officers are accused of murdering a 17-year-old suspect in their care is set to start in the Windhoek High Court soon.
The three officers, Werner Johannes Shetekela (30), Kleopas Shiikalepo Kapalanga (28) and 33-year-old Elia Nakale made their fifth pre-trail appearance before court on Thursday after their case was referred to the High Court.
Judge President Petrus Damaseb postponed the matter to July 23 for the counsel of Accused 3 to reply to the State’s pre-trial memorandum.
Boris ‘The Mouth’ Isaacks represents Shetekela, while Willem Visser appears for Kapalanga and Kadhila Amoomo for Nakale – all private instructions through the City of Windhoek.
The accused face charges of murder, kidnapping and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
According to the indictment, they killed Mandela Ramakhuha by assaulting him all over his head and body and handcuffing him and letting him fall down or throwing him on the ground. Ramakhuha died in the Katutura Hospital on April 24, 2013, as a result of injuries sustained in the assault.
The charge of kidnapping states that the accused deprived Ramakhuha of his liberty of movement and detained him unlawfully for approximately two to four hours before releasing him into the custody of members of the Namibian Police Force at the Windhoek Police Station.
The third charge states that the accused unlawfully, and with the intent to defeat or attempt to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, reported to members of NamPol that the deceased must be detained and is drunk and pretending to be ill or unconscious.
They further failed to report to their seniors that they assaulted the deceased and prevented the deceased from obtaining medical treatment, the indictment read and also that they failed to inform his guardians where they were going to take the deceased.
According to the summary of substantial facts, the accused were all members of the Windhoek City Police who were on standby duty and acted with a common purpose when they collected the deceased from a drinking place on the evening of Tuesday April 16.
They suspected the deceased of having participated in a recent crime of theft of cellphone(s) and computer(s) from the City of Windhoek Head Office, the indictment states.
“The accused loaded the deceased into a pick-up motor vehicle and handcuffed him. While driving around with the deceased in the absence and without the consent of his parents or lawful guardian, the accused interrogated the 17-year-old deceased regarding the theft case and the whereabouts of the stolen goods and an alleged accomplice to this theft,” according to the indictment.
It further states that while Ramakhuha was in their custody, the accused assaulted him with blunt force and drove him to various places in Windhoek.
After driving around for approximately two to four hours, the accused dropped the unconscious deceased at the Windhoek Police Station with instructions to the police to detain him on a charge of theft.
The police officers on duty, however, took the unconscious boy to Katutura Hospital where he died due to soft tissue trauma caused by the assault, it is alleged.
Meanwhile, Shetekela is currently in custody on another murder charge.
He allegedly killed his wife, Taleni (Momy) Shetekela together with his girlfriend on April 23 this year.
It is alleged that the deceased found Shetekela in the company of Rosalia Eliphas with whom he had an extra-marital affair. The two lovers then allegedly assaulted the deceased so severely that she lost consciousness.
Taleni died the next morning in the Roman Catholic Hospital where she was admitted to the ICU after Shetekela took her there.
Both he and Eliphas were denied bail in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court on April 27.