The trial of a woman accused of a fatal shack fire that claimed the lives of her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend in December 2022 has descended into a trial within a trial.
This was after the accused refuted an alleged confession and admissions she made to police officers shortly after her arrest.
Mechtilde Karomo (32) objected to the admissibility of the confession and admissions.
She said she was coerced into making the statements.
Her Legal Aid-funded lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji told the judge that the alleged confession and admissions do not meet the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Act in that they were not made freely and voluntarily.
Karomo pleaded not guilty at the start of her trial. She challenged the State to prove each and every allegation against her.
It is alleged by the State that she killed Leonard Kadubuli (36) and Anastasia Matende (31) on 25 December 2022 in Windhoek’s Okahandja Park informal settlement.
The State is alleging that Karomo went to Kadubuli’s shack, and demanded he open it while he and Matende were inside.
It is alleged that Karomo then threatened to burn down the shack and kill the occupants.
She allegedly returned in the early hours of the next day, and set the shack on fire, killing Kadubuli and Matende while they were asleep. An alternative charge of malicious damage to property has been added.
The matter is presided over by Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen. Advocate Dominic Lisulu represents the State.
Karomo is free on bail.