Father accused of killing son pleads not guilty

By: LUQMAN CLOETE

A 70 year-old Tses resident accused of shooting and killing his son yesterday pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder when his trial started in the Keetmans-hoop Regional Court.

It is alleged that Jacobus Quido Apollus shot and killed his son, Patricio David Apollus, in the head from a close range with a .270 calibre hunting rifle on February 2 2008 at Tses near Keetmanshoop.  
In his plea explanation, read by his lawyer, Norman Tjombe, Apollus a denied that he unlawfully and intentionally killed his son.
However, he acknowledged that a bullet he had fired from a firearm had struck and caused the death of the deceased.
Apollus claimed he had acted in self-defence, against the continuous attacks by his son who, he alleged, was throwing large stones or bricks at him.
He added that he fired the shot to ward off the deceased when he had bent downwards to pick up more stones and bricks, claiming that the bullet struck the deceased when he, unexpectedly, moved upwards into the path of the bullet.
“Had the deceased not moved unexpectedly upwards, the bullet would not have  struck him, but would have harmlessly and safely passed the deceased,” Apollus claimed.
Apollus described his son as a violent person throughout his life, claiming his violent conduct was mostly directed at him, his mother and family members.
He added the deceased person was “particularly violent” at the time when the shooting incident happened.
Laurencia Kamgootuy (64), a close relative of the accused, yesterday testified  Patricio never threw stones at the accused, although he was armed with it.
“I did not notice he (the deceased person) was doing anything,” she told the court.
According to Kamgootuy, the deceased had picked up stones after he and two other people came out of the house.
She said Apollus Jr returned to the house again, with Apollus Sr telling him to leave his yard.
At one stage Apollus Sr was pushing his son with a “kierie” on his shoulder and chest to force him to leave, but he refused, she added.
Apollus Jr then picked up stones and positioned himself some few meters from the kitchen door, said Kamgootuy.
At that time, his father entered the house to fetch his rifle.
“If you pick stones, I am going to get my gun,” he allegedly said before he went into the house to fetch the gun, Kamgootuy told the court.
She added that she tried to convince Patricio to leave, but he had refused.
“By now I only heard them exchanging words like ‘shoot’ and ‘throw’,” she told the court.
District Magistrate Godwin Chizande postponed the trial until today, on request of State Prosecutor Veiko Alexander, who indicated the witness was not feeling well.
Apollus remains free on bail of N$ 2 000.
luqman@namibian.com.na

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