British mogul Harvey Boulter is to face a charge of murder and three charges of contravening the Arms and Ammunitions Act in the Windhoek High Court. 

Outjo magistrate Immanuel Udjombala made the announcement yesterday, following the prosecutor general’s decision on the matter.  He will make a first pre-trial appearance on 19 May. Boulter (53) will face one charge of murder, one count of possession of a firearm without a licence, one count of possession of ammunition without a licence, and one count of handling a firearm while under the influence of liquor or a drug having a narcotic effect.  He is accused of murdering his farm manager Gerhard van Wyk at his multi-million dollar sprawling property in the Kamanjab area in February last year. 

He denied guilt during a section 119 plea in the Outjo Magistrate’s Court in September 2021.

 It is alleged that the incident occurred after an altercation during a braai held at the farm. According to witnesses who testified during the bail hearing, Boulter had been the initial aggressor during the incident. 

The accused allegedly assaulted Van Wyk’s son after he objected to a remark he had
made about his wife, and that Van Wyk then came to his son’s assistance before the shooting happened. 

However, during the scuffle between Boulter and Van Wyk, a shot went off. Van Wyk was shot in the abdomen, and died while being transported to a hospital. Boulter was shot in his left hand during the incident. 

During the bail hearing, Udjombala was told that Van Wyk’s wife, Alta van Wyk, who was present when the shooting took place, informed the police she had seen Boulter pointing a pistol at her husband’s head, and that her husband pushed the gun away before a shot went off. 

Meanwhile, The Namibian reported that subsequent affidavits in the matter quoted two people who claimed that they heard Alta denying that she had given that version of events to the police.

The newspaper also reported that a South African law firm acting on behalf of Alta sent a letter to a lawyer representing Boulter in July last year, stating that she was willing to accept a payment of N$55 million from Boulter to settle a claim against him over the loss of her husband. Boulter registered criminal charges against Alta with the police in Windhoek in December, one of his defence lawyers, Kadhila Amoomo, said. Boulter remains free on bail of N$500 000, which was granted to him by a Windhoek High Court judge in July last year.

rrouth@nepc.com.na