WINDHOEK - A Gobabis resident accused of killing his three-month-old son by picking him up and throwing him on the ground causing him to die later that day in hospital from a fractured skull, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder yesterday before Windhoek High Court Judge Nate Ndauendapo in the Windhoek High Court.

Dawid Amseb, 25, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder for allegedly grabbing the mother of the boy, Asina Ismelda Morao, on the throat and strangling her with the intent to murder her.

His state-funded lawyer, Mese Tjituri confirmed the pleas are in accordance with his instructions and read a short plea explanation into the record. 

According to the plea explanation, Amseb admitted that he had the boy, Dube Morao, in his arms on March 30, last year and that the boy fell from his arms onto the ground sustaining the injuries that killed him. However, Amseb said, he did not pick up the infant and throw him on the ground as alleged by the state. 

According to him, he had the boy in his arms when an altercation erupted between him and the boy’s mother and she grabbed him around the stomach causing him to lose his hold onto the infant and let him fall. He said he immediately took the deceased to the Gobabis hospital. 

He further denied he tried to kill his girlfriend saying: “I did not touch her.”
According to the indictment, Amseb and Morao lived together in the nature of a marriage and was the biological parents of the deceased. During the early morning hours of March 30, 2017, the mother was busy breastfeeding the infant when an argument erupted between her and the accused.

The accused grabbed the mother on her throat and strangled her, but she managed to free herself from the grip, it is stated. It further says the accused then picked up the deceased and threw him on the ground, which caused him to die later the same day due to a head injury.

Advocate Hezekiel Ipinge represents the state.
The trial continues today and Amseb remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial-awaiting inmates.