The state will not be allowed to use evidence of oral admissions allegedly made by two men charged with robbing and murdering a Walvis Bay resident in his home in December 2023 in the two accused men’s trial.
Judge Philanda Christiaan declared the alleged oral statements inadmissible as evidence in the trial of Quanito van Vuuren (28) and Sem Moses (23) in a ruling delivered in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.
Christiaan found that the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Van Vuuren and Moses had been informed of their constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to have legal representation, before they made the alleged admissions to a police detective at Walvis Bay Police Station on 31 December 2023.
She also found that the versions of the two accused, who claimed their rights were not explained to them before they were questioned at the police station, could not be rejected as false beyond reasonable doubt, and that the state has failed to prove that their alleged admissions were made freely and voluntarily.
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.
The two accused both denied guilt on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and rape when their trial started before Christiaan near the end of May this year.
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 while they were at Gavin’s house, he heard noises coming from the bedrooms of the dwelling.
He said when he went to see what was making the sounds, he found Gavin lying motionless on a floor, with Moses present.
Van Vuuren denied that he assaulted Gavin, who is alleged to have died due to suffocation, but admitted that he stole a cellphone, a tablet computer and caps from Gavin’s house.
Gavin was found with a piece of cloth stuffed into his mouth and with his feet tied together.
A police officer, detective senior inspector Johan Geiseb, has testified during the trial that the police traced Gavin’s cellphone to a house in the Kuisebmond area of Walvis Bay, where it was found in the possession of a police officer a day after the discovery of Gavin’s body.
The policeman reported that he had bought the cellphone from someone, and the person who sold the phone thereafter told the police he had bought the phone from two people, whom he identified as Van Vuuren and Moses, Geiseb testified.
In her ruling on Friday, Christiaan said an accused person must be informed of their constitutional rights in clear, unequivocal and understandable language before they decide whether to answer questions or remain silent.
Christiaan also stated: “The constitutional right to remain silent and the right to legal representation serve a practical purpose. Their protection depends upon a clear explanation before questioning begins and a reliable basis for concluding that the suspect understood and waived them. On the evidence presented, those requirements were not proved to the standard required in criminal proceedings.”
The two men’s trial is continuing.
Defence lawyers Albert Titus and Milton Engelbrecht are representing Van Vuuren and Moses, respectively.
Both accused have been held in custody since their arrest.
State advocate Beata Hamunyela is prosecuting.
