A man accused of stabbing his elder brother to death in Windhoek on 20 November last year was granted bail of N$2 500 by magistrate Johannes Shuuveni.
Aaron Tjerivanga (25) is accused of stabbing his brother Marciel Tjerivanga (28) to death at the Agste Laan informal settlement in Otjomuise after an argument between them.
Before his formal bail application could start, prosecutor Cuthbert Lusipani dropped his opposition to bail and proposed bail in the amount of N$4 000. However, Jermaine Muchali, the Legal Aid instructed lawyer of Tjerivanga, informed the court that his client cannot afford N$4 000 and instead proposed N$3 000. Magistrate Shuuveni then set the bail amount at N$2 500.
Shuuveni further ordered that Tjerivanga must report to the Otjomuise police station twice a week on Mondays and Fridays between 08h00 and 17h00.
He is not allowed to leave the district of Windhoek without permission from the investigating officer, Inspector Ndokosho.
During his first court appearance, Tjerivanga told the court that he does not know what came over him.
“I blacked out and reached for my knife and before I knew it, I had stabbed my brother,” he told magistrate Victoria Absalom.
He is facing a charge of murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
According to the accused, he and his brother Marciel got into an argument after the latter accused him of having an affair with his girlfriend whom he (Marciel) had locked in his room.
“I was at home with my younger brother and we were outside drinking when we suddenly heard someone yelling from inside the house. It turned out to be my brother’s girlfriend who wanted to use the toilet facilities but was locked inside my brother’s room and was asking us to break open the door.
“My younger brother and I broke the door down and when Marciel returned, he was angry that we broke his door down. We explained the reason why we did it and told him it was his girlfriend who had asked us to break the door down as she needed to use the bathroom,” he told the police.
The matter was postponed to 15 May for a plea in terms of section 119 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
This will be followed by a decision by the prosecutor general on what charges and in which court he will be tried. – rrouth@nepc.com.na