Windhoek
The State-funded lawyer of Jesaya Nicanor, the man accused of raping and killing the manager of a lodge outside Outjo in 2008, conceded during submissions on the verdict to be delivered that his client might be guilty of the offences.
According to Mese Tjituri, while his client cannot be convicted on the charges of breaking and entering and defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, the presence of his DNA in the private parts of the deceased, Fiona Ann Holton, cannot be wished away.
A DNA sample taken from Nicanor matched swabs taken from inside the private parts of Holton and a blood spot found on a pair of shorts Nicanor was wearing the day before Holton’s partly naked body was found, was positively identified as Holton’s.
The tests were done by the Namibian Forensic Science Institute and are the same as the tests done by the British Columbia Institute in Canada.
Nicanor denied guilt at the start of his trial and vehemently denied that he was anywhere near the residence of the deceased when she was raped and killed.
Holton’s body was found by the person she was to replace as the camp manager, Juanita Holmes, after she was not seen the whole day.
Holmes who was the first witness testified that she and the deceased agreed the night before that Holton would take time out to get settled in her new residence and would then report for work during the afternoon.
She said she did not worry when Holton did not show up for lunch, but got anxious when the deceased failed to report for duty as required. That was when she conveyed her worries to her husband and the operations manager at the lodge and they went searching for Holton and found her lying on her back with her nightdress over her face and her genitals and breasts exposed.
Nicanor, 40, is charged with the murder and rape of Holton as well as defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice for washing and/or hiding a pair of beige Bermuda camouflage pants the police asked for.
He claimed during his testimony in his own defence that he was at a place called Ombika Gate, about 14km from the camp, at the time Holton was raped and killed.
The State alleges that Nicanor killed Holton during the night of September 20 to 21, 2008.
Nicanor told the court that on the Saturday in question he went to Ombika Gate and returned very late so that his roommate Johannes Damaseb had to open the door to their room. Damaseb however testified that the door was not locked and when he saw Nicanor that night he had on his sleeping trousers already.
During his testimony, Nicanor also claimed that he went to Ombika Gate at around 12h00 on the Sunday and only returned to the camp between 22h30 and 23h00 when he learned about the rape and murder.
It is alleged that Nicanor who was a contractor installing air-conditioners at Etosha Safari Camp at the time broke into the residence of the deceased by opening a window and climbing through.
He then attacked the deceased with an unknown object on the head and also strangled her after he raped her, the indictment reads. The deceased died as a result of head injuries sustained during the attack.
State Advocate Felistas Shikerete appears for the State.
Judge Liebenberg reserved his judgment to next Monday, July 25 and Nicanor is out on bail.