A senior police officer attached to the Women and Child Protection Unit in Keetmanshoop made a first appearance in the Windhoek High Court yesterday before Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula.

Detective Warrant Officer Morgan Brian Plaatjie is facing one charge of housebreaking with the intent to murder and murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, one count of attempted murder, two counts of contravening the Combating of Domestic Violence Act – contravening a protection order -, one count of assault by threat and one count of malicious damage to property, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act. It is alleged by the State that during the period 25 to 26 June 2021 in Keetmanshoop, the accused broke down the front door of Yvette Sharon Louw’s house by kicking open the door with the intent to murder Louw, and did then and there unlawfully and intentionally kill Louw by stabbing her several times with a knife. 

The attempted murder charge relates to an incident on the same date when he unlawfully and intentionally assaulted Dawid Jansen by stabbing him multiple times with the intention to murder him.  With regards to contravening a protection order, it is alleged that Plaatjie contravened the provisions of a protection order the deceased had taken out against him on two occasions. 

The assault by threat charge is in relation to an incident when Plaatjie allegedly threatened to kill or beat her in circumstances where she believed he had the intention and means to carry out his threat, and caused her to flee her residence. The malicious damage charge reflects an incident when he unlawfully and intentionally destroyed her TV set.

His lawyer Boris Isaacks confirmed his appearance for Plaatjie, and informed Judge Angula that he received the docket from the prosecutor, and requested a remand to study the docket. Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef confirmed that the docket was availed to Isaacks, and agreed to the postponement. 

When Isaacks, however, enquired about the possibility for bail, Verhoef was adamant that the State will vehemently oppose bail. The judge postponed the matter to the next pre-trial hearing date on 19 May. According to the summary of substantial facts in the indictment, the accused and Louw were involved in a romantic relationship, from which two children were born. However, two years before her death, she terminated the relationship and moved into her own residence in Keetmanshoop’s Tseiblaagte residential area. 

Due to ongoing assaults and threats of assault by Plaatjie, the deceased applied and obtained a protection order against Plaatjie, valid until August 2022. He, however, violated the protection order on 7 May 2021 when he came to her house and insulted and threatened her as well as damaged her TV set. She opened a criminal case against him, and he was arrested and granted bail. 

It is further stated that the accused again went to the deceased’s house during the late-night hours of 25 June 2021, where he found the deceased and her new boyfriend, Jansen. He started to stab the boyfriend, causing him to flee. He thereafter proceeded to attack the deceased by stabbing her several times with a knife, causing her to seek shelter. The accused allegedly broke down the front door and the door of the toilet, where she had locked herself in, and continued to stab the deceased until she collapsed.  He then called the police, and reported that he ‘killed’ the deceased. The police arrived, and took her to hospital. She died there due to blood loss and injuries caused by the stab wounds. Plaatjie remains in custody at the Seeis police station. -rrouth@nepc.com.na