RUNDU – Accused of murdering his employer in a vicious axe attack, kidnapping the victim’s wife and running away with her in the couple’s vehicle before overturning it near Otjimbingwe, Nicolaus Mangundu Hausiku yesterday appeared in court at Rundu on a separate charge of possession of cannabis, for which he was denied bail.
In the meantime, police in Rundu have transferred him to Karibib to answer to charges related to the events on a fateful Saturday last weekend when Otjimbingwe farmer Hendrik Petrus Coetzee, 59, was killed with an axe.
Hausiku, 27, was arrested on Monday at a Rundu bus stop where he was about to board a bus to his village.
On Saturday, after allegedly killing farmer and Namibian Defence Force soldier Coetzee, he overturned the runaway vehicle – belonging to the victim couple – 35 kilometres into his attempted fleeing.
Forcibly accompanying him in the vehicle was the deceased’s terrified wife Maria, whom he allegedly threatened.
“He is not appearing in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court [for the murder] but is going to be in transit to the jurisdiction where the crime was committed,” said the Kavango East Police Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Bonifatius Kanyetu.
The murder happened on Saturday while the deceased and his wife were at the farm for a weekend. It is further alleged that, about 35 km from Otjimbingwe, the suspect lost control over the vehicle and the vehicle overturned but none of them sustained serious injuries.
After the accident the suspect fled from the scene and Maria walked some kilometres towards Otjimbingwe before she was rescued by people travelling in a vehicle from Windhoek, who notified the police.
Kanyetu said that they were confident they have arrested the right suspect.
“We were just informed that he allegedly committed murder and kidnapping and we received a warrant of arrest and we set up an operation to apprehend him,” Kanyetu said.
On how they identified him, Kanyetu said the following:
“All I can confirm is that we arrested the right person, because he also already had a case with us and we know him and he was supposed to appear here and we know that he was working at that particular farm.”
“We know his parents and have their contact details and we got him on Monday morning but the investigation still also needs to confirm him in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed,” he said.
Suspects are by law expected to appear in court within 48 hours of their arrest.
“When a suspect is in transit the 48 hours only starts counting when he lands in the area of jurisdiction,” Kanyetu explained.
“If you are arrested in an area where the court has no jurisdiction over you, your 48 hours only starts the time you in that area.”