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Details emerge in alleged killer’s trial 

Details emerge in alleged killer’s trial 

One of the police officers who was involved in the arrest of a Khorixas resident who allegedly killed his former girlfriend, testified yesterday before Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen.

The accused allegedly killed the mother of his three children to prevent her from testifying in a rape allegation against him.

Sergeant Simon Haradoeb told the judge that they were on the lookout for Arnold Khamseb (50), who is suspected of murdering Sylvia Tatamigu Gorases (46), when he and a fellow officer spotted the suspect near a primary school in Khorixas. 

They decided to follow him, and Khamseb went to sit down in a patch of trees. They then approached him, and when he tried to run off, he (Haradoeb) grabbed him by the arms, and his colleague grabbed the trousers of the suspect, and they wrestled him to the ground. Haradoeb said he then introduced himself to the suspect, and informed him of his legal rights, and that he was under arrest for the murder of Gorases. 

He further said when he explained the right to remain silent to Khamseb, the latter indicated that he would not say anything. He  conducted a search on Khamseb, and discovered that the accused was wearing three trousers. He ordered him to remove the extra two trousers, and saw bloodstains on the second trouser the officer stated. Haradoeb further told the judge that he then bagged the bloodstained trousers and took Khamseb to the Khorixas State Hospital for a physical examination, after which he was taken to the Khorixas police station, and detained and charged.  Warrant Officer Sylvanus Basson testified that he was the standby officer on duty when he received a summons to a murder scene. When he arrived, he found the body of a female with a stab wound on the right side of her neck. She also had a toothbrush in one of her hands, and he could observe a cup next to her body, the officer testified. 

He further saw a skipper (T-shirt) and a military-style cap close to the body, and was handed a bloodstained knife at the scene. Khamseb claimed in a plea explanation read to the court by his Legal Aid lawyer, Petrus Grushaber, that the deceased stabbed herself when she stormed at him with a knife.

 “The deceased took a knife and stormed at me. She tried to stab me, and I grabbed her arms and pulled or pushed her, and she fell. In that process, she stabbed herself,” Khamseb stated.

He is facing a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act of 2003. He is further facing a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for allegedly assaulting the brother of the deceased, Jaspart Kesta Goraseb, during the same altercation.

 He also faces a charge of housebreaking with intent to rape for allegedly breaking into the house of his mother, and forcing open the door to his biological daughter’s room with the intent to rape her. This incident allegedly happened on 7 July 2018, and he was on bail on this charge when he allegedly murdered Gorases on 24 December 2019 to prevent her from testifying in the rape allegation. 

In his plea explanation, Khamseb further denied that he assaulted Gorases, and said Gorases came running towards him and started assaulting him from behind, and grabbed him. “I struggled myself loose from her  grab and ran; I never stabbed or assaulted the complainant in count two in any manner,” he stated. 

He further said when he grabbed and pushed or pulled the deceased and she fell to the ground, he was only defending himself to prevent the continuing assault by the deceased. With regards to the count of housebreaking with intent to rape, he denied the charge. He said he never broke into the house of his mother and raped the victim.

According to the indictment, the accused was on the run for three days until he was arrested on 27 December 2019. The matter continues tomorrow, and Khamseb remains in custody.

-rrouth@nepc.com.na