Two men accused of raping, robbing and murdering a Walvis Bay resident in his home near the end of 2023 denied guilt on four charges at the start of their trial in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
Quanito van Vuuren (28) and Sem Moses (22) pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder, two counts of rape and a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances at the commencement of their trial before judge Philanda Christiaan.
Van Vuuren and Moses are accused of murdering Walvis Bay resident Vernon Gavin (53) in his home on 30 December 2023. They are also accused of raping Gavin and robbing him.
In a plea statement given to the court, Moses denied that he had been at Gavin’s home at any point in time.
Van Vuuren, however, informed the court in a plea statement that he and Moses were both at Gavin’s home on 30 December 2023.
Van Vuuren also stated that he did not know Gavin before Gavin invited him to his house on 30 December 2023.
According to Van Vuuren, he suggested to Gavin that they should also invite Moses to Gavin’s house.
“We spent some time at the house of the deceased [Gavin] drinking beer and smoking cigarettes,” Van Vuuren said in his statement.
“At some stage during this visit, I was seated in the living room by myself and accused 2 [Moses] and the deceased were in another area of the house.
While I was seated in the living room drinking beer by myself, I heard noises coming from the area of the bedrooms.”
Van Vuuren said he went to see what was making sounds he had heard, and in a bedroom of the house he found Moses standing and Gavin lying on the floor.
“The deceased appeared to be unconscious,” he stated.
“I did not know what caused him to lose consciousness as I was not present when that happened. I only arrived after he was already lying on the floor, motionless.”
Van Vuuren added: “I strongly deny that I ever, at any stage, assaulted the deceased in any manner.
“I deny that I killed the deceased or that I acted in common purpose with [Moses] to kill the deceased.”
He also denied that he committed any sexual act with Gavin or was present when anyone else committed a sexual act with Gavin.
On the robbery charge, Van Vuuren denied that he assaulted Gavin, but admitted that he stole a cellphone, a tablet computer and three caps that he found in Gavin’s house.
Van Vuuren stated: “After I found the deceased unconscious […] I recognised this as an opportunity to steal some items from [Gavin] before he regains consciousness.”
The state is alleging that Gavin died due to a lack of oxygen, after a piece of cloth was pushed deep into his throat.
Van Vuuren and Moses, who are represented by defence lawyers Albert Titus and Milton Engelbrecht, respectively, are both being held in custody.
State advocate Beata Hamunyela is representing the prosecution in their trial.
