CCTV footage obtained by the State yesterday showed how the Nkata couple leisurely walked to a service station near their residence and bought firelighters, paraffin and matches during the early morning hours.

The footage was shown yesterday when Caroline Nkata, her husband Edward, and Rachel Kureva who are accused of murdering Akundaishe Natalie Chipomho, the biological daughter of Kureva – made another scheduled appearance in the Windhoek High Court before Judge Philanda Christiaan.

The lawyers representing the accused, Milton Engelbrecht, Mbanga Siyomunji and Joseph Andreas, objected to the admissibility of the footage, claiming the chain of custody was not proven. However, after several arguments for and against, the judge allowed the footage to be shown, but warned that it is only provisionally admitted.

The footage shows Caroline, who claims that she was threatened by her husband to accompany him to the shop and help him set the body of their alleged victim on fire, calmly and willingly walking with Edward, and even picking the paraffin and firelighters off the shelf herself. She even fetched a cooldrink from the fridge.

They are accused of murdering the nine-year-old girl and burning her body in a municipal skip container.

The partly burned body of chipomho was found on 25 January 2020 in a rubbish container near Rhino Park hospital. CCTV footage from the night in question showed two people – a man and a woman – dragging a wheelie bin in the direction of the skip container. The State claims that it is the Nkata couple, and that they were dragging the body of Chipomho to the container to set it alight and destroy an incriminating evidence.

They are facing one count of murder together with Kureva, and further counts of violating a dead body, defeating or attempting to defeat the course of justice, fraud, alternatively uttering a forged document, forgery, as well as contravening the Immigration Control Act.

They denied guilt on all the charges, but admitted contravening the Immigration Control Act by remaining in Namibia from 16 June 2019 to 26 January 2020, after the expiry of a two-year employment permit that had permitted them to stay in Namibia from June 2017.

The matter continues, and the accused remain in custody. The State is represented by Ethel Ndlovu. -rrouth@nepc.com.na