‘Baboon shooting’ claims return in trial over farm worker killing

THE High Court trial of two men accused of shooting an Outjo area farm worker to death in April last year was adjourned to September last week, shortly after the resurfacing of claims that one of the accused men had told the Police that he thought he was shooting at a baboon when he killed the labourer.

Claims that farmer Pieter Hendrik (Drikus) Spangenberg (41) had told the Police that he thought he was shooting at a baboon when he shot dead farm worker Evelino Munenge Jacob (26) at the farm Zhukov West in the Outjo district on April 24 last year, sparked angry public demonstrations during Spangenberg’s first court appearances at Outjo last year. On Wednesday and Thursday last week, these claims were resurrected during Spangenberg’s High Court trial, with two Police officers telling Judge Sylvester Mainga that they had heard Spangenberg say just that when he was arrested at farm Zhukov West two days after Evelino had been shot.Spangenberg and a friend, Christiaan Johannes (Christo) Ayres (40), pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice when their trial started on Monday last week.Spangenberg however admitted that he was handling a .308 hunting rifle belonging to Ayres when a shot went off – accidentally, Spangenberg says – and Evelino was struck.That took place at a water post at Zhukov West where Spangenberg and Ayres said they were out hunting when they spotted an apparent trespasser – who turned out to have been Evelino – walking through the veld.Spangenberg and Ayres have also admitted that they moved Evelino’s body after the shooting, to a spot some 55 kilometres away, where they left the body next to a gravel road.According to two Police detectives who testified before Judge Mainga last week, Sergeant Tarrah Lungameni Kalunga and Constable Ehrenfriede Kaveta, they were following up the reported disappearance of Evelino two days before when, on April 26 last year, they arrived at Zhukov West to make enquiries.Kalunga described Spangenberg as co-operative and appearing calm when they asked him whether there had been any shooting incidents at the farm.At that stage, said Kalunga, a fellow farm worker who had been in Evelino’s company on April 24, Manuel Kaluvi, had told the Police that he and Evelino had been at Zhukov West when there was shooting and Kaluvi ran off, returning home to a nearby farm, without Evelino.Spangenberg readily owned up that he had shot a human being, Kalunga and Kaveta testified.According to them he explained that he had shot at what he thought was a baboon, only to discover thereafter that it had in fact been a person.Both Kalunga and Kaveta were asked to repeat the exact quote that they claimed Spangenberg had uttered when he said he had thought he was shooting at a baboon.Their quotes did not correspond precisely, but the thrust was similar: that Spangenberg had explained that he was under the mistaken impression that he was firing a shot at a baboon.They added that when they asked Spangenberg what had happened to the body, he told them that he “threw it away” next to a road.Spangenberg’s defence counsel, Gerson Hinda, disputed the witnesses’ version, telling them that according to his instructions, Spangenberg had not claimed to have thought he was shooting at a baboon.Spangenberg’s explanation would be that he had told the Police officers that he saw a movement in the grass while he and Ayres were waiting for game to hunt, and that he initially thought it might be a baboon, because they had frequent problems with baboons damaging water installations at the farm.However, when he looked and saw it was a human being, he sent Ayres to go and call the man, Hinda related.A shot went off accidentally, Hinda added.The safety mechanism of the rifle does not work when it is loaded, the court was shown last week.The trial was postponed to September 23.On Wednesday and Thursday last week, these claims were resurrected during Spangenberg’s High Court trial, with two Police officers telling Judge Sylvester Mainga that they had heard Spangenberg say just that when he was arrested at farm Zhukov West two days after Evelino had been shot.Spangenberg and a friend, Christiaan Johannes (Christo) Ayres (40), pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice when their trial started on Monday last week.Spangenberg however admitted that he was handling a .308 hunting rifle belonging to Ayres when a shot went off – accidentally, Spangenberg says – and Evelino was struck.That took place at a water post at Zhukov West where Spangenberg and Ayres said they were out hunting when they spotted an apparent trespasser – who turned out to have been Evelino – walking through the veld.Spangenberg and Ayres have also admitted that they moved Evelino’s body after the shooting, to a spot some 55 kilometres away, where they left the body next to a gravel road.According to two Police detectives who testified before Judge Mainga last week, Sergeant Tarrah Lungameni Kalunga and Constable Ehrenfriede Kaveta, they were following up the reported disappearance of Evelino two days before when, on April 26 last year, they arrived at Zhukov West to make enquiries.Kalunga described Spangenberg as co-operative and appearing calm when they asked him whether there had been any shooting incidents at the farm.At that stage, said Kalunga, a fellow farm worker who had been in Evelino’s company on April 24, Manuel Kaluvi, had told the Police that he and Evelino had been at Zhukov West when there was shooting and Kaluvi ran off, returning home to a nearby farm, without Evelino.Spangenberg readily owned up that he had shot a human being, Kalunga and Kaveta testified.According to them he explained that he had shot at what he thought was a baboon, only to discover thereafter that it had in fact been a person.Both Kalunga and Kaveta were asked to repeat the exact quote that they claimed Spangenberg had uttered when he said he had thought he was shooting at a baboon.Their quotes did not correspond precisely, but the thrust was similar: that Spangenberg had explained that he was under the mistaken impression that he was firing a shot at a baboon.They added that when they asked Spangenberg what had happened to the body, he told them that he “threw it away” next to a road.Spangenberg’s defence counsel, Gerson Hinda, disputed the witnesses’ version, telling them that according to his instructions, Spangenberg had not claimed to have thought he was shooting at a baboon.Spangenberg’s explanation would be that he had told the Police officers that he saw a movement in the grass while he and Ayres were waiting for game to hunt, and that he initially thought it might be a baboon, because they had frequent problems with baboons damaging water installations at the farm.However, when he looked and saw it was a human being, he sent Ayres to go and call the man, Hinda related.A shot went off accidentally, Hinda added.The safety mechanism of the rifle does not work when it is loaded, the court was shown last week.The trial was postponed to September 23.