2017-11-02Staff Report 2 Roland Routh Windhoek-The trial of six people accused of murder, robbery, possession of drugs and defeating or obstructing the course of justice suffered a temporary delay to its start this week as one of the defense counsel was unavailable due to prior commitments to sit for exams. Legal Aid lawyer Tuna Nhinda, who recently took over at the defense counsel for one of the accused, David Kondjara, informed the court in writing that he would not be available until next week November 6, as he made a commitment to sit for examinations before he was assigned the case. Trevor Brockerhoff, also a legal aid lawyer, stood in for Nhinda and he too asked the court to postpone the matter to Wednesday, November 8, as he will be involved in a Supreme Court matter on Tuesday, November 7. The recently appointed acting judge of the Windhoek High Court, Johanna Salionga, then remanded the matter to next Wednesday. Muleke’s widow, Annastancia Lubinda, 33, is believed to have hired five men to kill her husband, Peter Riscoh Muleke, 36. The men on trial for Muleke’s murder are David Matali, 45, David Kondjara, 32, Abuid Uazeua, Donald Hindjou, and Orivitje artist Dollam Dollam Tjitjahuma, 27. In a confession made by Lubinda before a magistrate she 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 gave her a cellphone number of people who kill for money. She then contacted the hitmen, whose initial price was N$7,000, Lubinda stated, but this was lowered to N$5,000 when she told them she could not afford the higher price. Kondjara and Hindjou also made statements to a magistrate in which they claim that while they admit to being were present at the crime scene, they did not partake in the killing. According to them, it was Uazeua and Dollam Dollam who killed the deceased with the help of Matali. According to the two, Lubinda was also 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, knowing full well that the hitmen were waiting for them there. The lifeless body of Muleke was found near Penduka at Goreangab Dam on March 30 last year. State Advocate Marthino Olivier will represent the State, while Milton Engelbrecht will represent Lubinda, Brockerhoff acts for Matali, Nhinda for Kondjara, while Mbanga Siyomunji acts for Uazeua, Meriam Kenaruzo for Hindjou, and Bronell Uirab for Tjitjahuma – all on instructions of legal aid. 2017-11-02Staff Report 2
