Windhoek
The State-funded lawyer in the case of Reinhold Pambe Geingob summarily withdrew from the case yesterday.
Attorney Flora Gaes informed the court she will discontinue representing Geingob, adding that he should look for another legal representative. Gaes said she was withdrawing from the case due to the fact she has been receiving conflicting instructions.
Even though Geingob pleaded with his lawyer not to abandon him, he explained to the court that his legal representative is not following his instructions concerning his case.
Magistatrate Alexis Diergaardt asked Gaes if there was any possibility of her changing her mind about representing Geingob, to which Gaes said “No”. “Your worship, the accused has an impression that the case will be resolved immediately and to his advantage,” said Gaes.
This is not the first time that Geingob lost his legal representation. Attorney Garth Joseph in April also withdrew from Geingob’s murder case. Joseph also informed the court then that there were conflicting instructions. Based on the records Geingob had a hard time getting along with and following instructions from his legal representative.
Last year, when the court ordered him to go for psychiatric evaluation at the Forensic Psychiatric Unit, his lawyer Joseph at the time disputed certain facts in the psychiatric evaluation report and instead of Geingob being on the same page with his lawyer, he requested the court to speed up the process so that he can just plead guilty or get bail.
The report stated that Geingob was healthy and mentally fit and there was no sign of mental illness. “It is a serious concern that the accused thinks he can get bail in some sort of way without following proper procedures,” explained Joseph.
Magistrate Diergaardt once instructed Geingob and his lawyer to put their house in order. “It seems there are conflicting instructions between you and your client, this is the second time now,” Diergaardt said.
Geingob is being accused of murdering his brother. It is alleged that on May 10, 2012, Geingob intentionally stabbed his brother, Herold Geingob, with an unidentified sharp object in Windhoek. Geingob died instantly from the assault.
Magistrate Diergaardt postponed the case to December 9 to enable Geingob to get legal representation.