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Home / Pastor’s lover returns to court for her murder
Pastor’s lover returns to court for her murder
2015-10-23Staff Report 2 Windhoek The pre-trial phase of the murder trial of Andre Friedel Castro Dausab, who allegedly slit the throat of his pastor-in-training girlfriend, started in the Windhoek High Court yesterday. Dausab yesterday made his first pre-trial appearance before Judge Nate Ndauendapo. As with his first appearance in the Magistrate’s Court shortly after his arrest when he floored a local journalist that took pictures of him, he again made waves when he fired his State-funded lawyer before the trial started. Lawyer Willem Visser informed the judge that Dausab terminated his mandate, but did not give any reasons. When the judge enquired from Dausab as to the reasons for firing his lawyer, Dausab merely told the judge he believes his reasons are valid. The judge warned Dausab that legal aid might not appoint him another lawyer should he continue to chop and change legal counsel. Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef then informed the court that she had already disclosed the docket to Visser, who in turn informed the court that he would inform legal aid about his dismissal and hand the disclosure to them. Dausab is charged with the brutal stabbing of 33-year-old Gofaone Motlamme, who was a third-year student at the United Lutheran Theological Paulinum College. It is alleged he stabbed her several times in the chest and arms before he struck a fatal blow in her neck and slit her throat in her room on campus in Pionierspark, Extension One on February 22 last year. During his appearance in the Magistrate’s Court Dausab asked the magistrate to allow him to go to Botswana to ask forgiveness from the family of the deceased. At the time he told the magistrate: “I have thousands of thoughts of suicide. I want to go to Botswana to ask for forgiveness.” He was ordered to undergo mental observation to determine his state of mind and was found fit to stand trial. According to the charge sheet, late Motlamme, a student at the Paulinum College, was involved in an intimate or romantic relationship with Dausab. On the Saturday of the incident the deceased and Dausab were together at her flat in Erasmus Street in Windhoek, when an argument erupted between them and he stabbed her at least 25 times all over her body. Reports at the time suggested Dausab also slit his victim’s throat. However, the summary of substantial facts in the indictment says after he stabbed the deceased, Dausab “left the seriously injured and screaming deceased inside the flat”, after he locked the entrance door to the flat and fled the scene. Motlamme reportedly did not die immediately, but after some time due to the seriousness of her injuries. The trial was postponed to 09h00 on November 19 for Dausab to sort out his legal representation issues. Meanwhile, he remains in custody. 2015-10-23Staff Report 2
