Windhoek
The lack of a San interpreter delayed the trial of a man who confessed to having fatally stabbed his common-law wife and mother of his six children. The trial has now been set down for June 28 and 29 for plea and trial.
Even though Kaxui Katjivi, 33, pleaded guilty to all charges in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Christi Liebenberg last month, his State-funded lawyer Afrika Jantjies still has to submit an expounded plea explanation. Judge Liebenberg did not accept the plea explanation on May 18, because “it did not explain the reasons for the plea comprehensively.”
The judge ordered Jantjies to prepare a new plea, setting out the reason for each plea.
Katjivi is charged with murder with direct intent, read with the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, as well as assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and one count of assault. Judge Liebenberg, however, had a problem with the charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH), as the complainant did not suffer any injuries.
According to the charge sheet the accused attempted to stab Alfeus Katai Haurumbu, who tried to come to the aid of the deceased, while the accused was busy stabbing the deceased. He, however, did not succeed as Haurumbu managed to evade the blows.
Judge Liebenberg asked Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef to revisit the charge and possibly amend it to attempted assault GBH. On the murder charge it is alleged Katjivi killed Dina Anton by stabbing her at least ten times with a knife at Otjinene in the Gobabis District on July 31, 2014.
It is stated in the charge sheet the deceased wanted to remove her belongings from the house of the accused, as she wanted to separate from him and move back to her family in Okakarara, but Katjivi ordered her not to remove her property and to stay. He then attacked her, which culminated in the fatal stabbing, the indictment reads.
Katjivi faces a further charge of assault for threatening Bertha Tlao Eises with a knife and for pushing her out of his house, causing her some injuries.
The San interpreter is needed for the two complainants in the assault charges, who will testify in aggravation of sentence when the trial resumes on June 28.