The trial of a Windhoek woman who is accused of hiring men to kill her husband is currently on hold to allow one of the accused to consult with his newly appointed lawyer.
David Kondjara (36) who is the third accused in the matter had Paulus Shilongo appointed to him by the Directorate of Legal Aid. The court ordered that Shilongo should obtain disclosure, court record, acquaint himself with the facts of the case and consult with Kondjara.
He is to report on the status on 23 April for the court to see if the trial can resume.
Judge Johanna Salionga cautioned Kondjara that the right to legal representation is not absolute and the court will not continue to put on hold the trial for his legal representation. Kondjara is charged alongside Annastancia Lubinda, Donald Hindjou, Abiud Uazeua, and Dollam Tjitjahuma for the death of Lubinda’s husband Peter Riscoh Muleke, who died during the night of 29-30 March 2015.
The sixth accused, David Matali has since died.
The prosecution is alleging that Lubinda hired Matali, Kondjara, Hindjou, Uazeua and Tjitjahuma to kill her husband for a fee of N$5 000. In a confession made before a magistrate, Lubinda said she was a victim of domestic abuse with regular beatings and a near-fatal stabbing.
This caused her to look for a way out, she said in her statement. According to her, Matali was the one that influenced her to have her husband killed and he told her about a person who can supply her with poison, but when this did not materialise, he gave her cellphone numbers of people who allegedly kill for money.
She then contacted the hitmen whose initial price was N$7 000, Lubinda stated, but it was lowered to N$5 000 when she told them she cannot afford the higher price.
Kondjara and Hindjou also made statements to a magistrate, in which they claim that although they were present at the crime scene, they did not partake in the killing. According to them, it was Uazeua and Tjitjahuma who killed the victim with the help of Matali.
According to the two, Lubinda was present and was telling the men “to make it quick”. Lubinda said in her statement that she asked her late husband to take her to Goreangab Dam on that fateful day to collect money from someone while knowing well that the hitmen were waiting for them.
The body of the deceased was later found a few metres from his abandoned car at Goreangab Dam.
The accused are now on trial on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and conspiracy to commit murder. All accused are in police custody. The accused are represented by defence lawyers Mbanga Siyomunji, Milton Engelbrecht, and Natji Tjirera. Marthino Olivier represents the state. -mamakali@nepc.com.na