2015-10-23Staff Report 2 Windhoek A Rehoboth resident accused of stabbing a shebeen owner to death made a first pre-trial appearance before Judge Nate Ndauendapo in the Windhoek High Court yesterday. Rickerts is charged with stabbing Shaun Roderick Beukes to death at a shebeen in Rehoboth’s Block E residential area on February 7, 2014. He also faces a charge of defeating or obstructing or attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. It is alleged he hid two knifes behind a corrugated iron shack and that he threatened State witnesses Albertus Josef Sneiders, Brenda van Wyk and Helga van Wyk that he would stab them to death whereever he finds them. According to the indictment, Rickerts arrived at the shebeen where the deceased was taking an afternoon nap, armed with two knives, looking for “strong people to stab”. It is stated that Rickerts then proceeded to sharpen both knives. When Beukes woke up, Rickerts allegedly remarked that the deceased is also one of those strong men and stabbed the deceased once in the chest, causing death due to an injury to the heart. He then ran away and hid the knives behind a corrugated iron shack with the aim of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, the indictment further states. While on bail for the murder, it is further alleged, Rickerts on various occasions threatened the State witnesses mentioned and caused them to believe that he would kill them to prevent them from testifying in his murder trial. The last incident of intimidation happened on January 10, and the threats were reported to the police. Rickerts was subsequently arrested and remains in custody. Bryan Edward Rickerts will be represented by lawyer Christopher Stanley on instructions of legal aid. Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef told Judge Ndauendapo that she made discovery to defence lawyer Christopher Stanley’s office and that she would deliver the State’s pre-trial memorandum to his office on Friday. She asked the court to postpone the matter to November 19 for Stanley to reply to the State’s question on which issues are in dispute and which are admitted. 2015-10-23Staff Report 2
