Eveline de Klerk
Swakopmund-Three suspects accused of brutally murdering an elderly couple in their home in Swakopmund on August 2 made their second appearance in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The trio – Daniel Stefanus Nghilifa, 26, Jerobeam Simon Shidute, 23, and Fabianus Lazarus, 24 – were once again denied bail by magistrate Jo-Rina Jagger after it was opposed by the state.
State prosecutor Dalon Quickfall opposed bail due to the public outcry –about 300 residents protested in silence in front of the court – and because they stand accused of a very serious crime.
The three attacked and robbed the 79-year-old Roswitha and 82-year-old Siegfried Strzelecki at their residence in Swakopmund on August 2.
Roswitha died on the spot after her head was slammed against a wall and she was strangled by the suspects.
Her husband died two weeks later in the Marie Douglas frail care unit in Swakopmund. He could however identify one of his attackers, Fabianus Lazarus, who had previously worked for them.
The suspects managed to steal a phone valued at N$8,000, N$1,000 in cash, a remote control of the house and a pair of sandals belonging to the deceased woman. They could not get to the contents of the couple’s safe.
The couple had replaced the locks of the safe after they lost the key. It turned out their attackers during the robbery tried to use the lost key to open the safe.
The case was postponed to December 6 for further investigations.
The suspects were told they can formally apply for bail through their respective legal representatives.