Bid for acquittal in beach murder trial

TWO of the three men on trial in the High Court in Windhoek on charges that they were involved in a deadly robbery that claimed the life of a Swakopmund goldsmith two years ago informed the court yesterday that they want to ask the court to acquit them immediately after the prosecution has closed its case.

Acting Judge Collins Parker is set to hear arguments today on the applications that murder, armed robbery and theft suspects Matti Kamati and Temus Shiwalo want to bring for their discharge. The two men face charges in connection with the robbery in which goldsmith Alexandra Mooren (44) was shot dead on the beach at Swakopmund on August 13 2004.Shiwalo’s defence counsel, Christie Mostert, and Kamati, who is handling his own defence, told the Acting Judge that they want to ask him to find them not guilty at the close of the State’s case.The third person in the dock with Kamati (37) and Shiwalo (33), Naftalie Kondja (28), will not be asking the court to discharge him at this stage, his defence counsel, Lucia Hamutenya, told Acting Judge Parker yesterday.The court heard this after State advocate Sandra Miller closed the State’s case against the three accused men.Miller called 15 witnesses to testify during the trial, which began on Thursday last week.The first of these witnesses, Detective Warrant Officer George Xoagub, told the court that Kondja had admitted to him that he had shot Mooren during a robbery.Kondja also told him that he took Mooren’s handbag from her during the robbery and handed it to Kamati moments later, and that taxi driver Shiwalo had also been involved in the planning of the robbery, Xoagub testified.The court further heard that Kondja, who at the start of the trial admitted that he had killed Mooren by shooting her twice during a robbery on a beach, had also implicated Kamati and Shiwalo in a statement he made before a Magistrate at Walvis Bay a few hours after his arrest less than an hour after Mooren had been robbed and killed.He repeated a claim that he had given the handbag to a waiting Kamati moments after the robbery a few weeks after his arrest, when he pointed out the scene of the robbery to a senior Police detective, the court further heard.These claims about statements by Kondja will however not be considered to be evidence against Kamati and Shiwalo unless Kondja repeats them in his own testimony in court.Other witnesses also mentioned Kamati’s and Shiwalo’s names during the trial.These witnesses included Victor Shiyandja, who was working as a security guard at a nightclub at Swakopmund during August 2004.He told the court on Monday that he saw Kamati and Kondja in each other’s company at the club, Ekandjo Bar, on the evening of August 12 2004.Kamati was regarded as a troublemaker, and he had had to throw Kamati out of the establishment, he claimed.Another employee at the club, Absalom Junias, also told the court on Friday that he had seen Kamati and Kondja with each other at the club that evening.Kondja had earlier been dropped off at the club by Shiwalo, he said.Both Kamati and Shiwalo disputed these claims, but the two witnesses refused to budge on their testimony.The two men face charges in connection with the robbery in which goldsmith Alexandra Mooren (44) was shot dead on the beach at Swakopmund on August 13 2004.Shiwalo’s defence counsel, Christie Mostert, and Kamati, who is handling his own defence, told the Acting Judge that they want to ask him to find them not guilty at the close of the State’s case.The third person in the dock with Kamati (37) and Shiwalo (33), Naftalie Kondja (28), will not be asking the court to discharge him at this stage, his defence counsel, Lucia Hamutenya, told Acting Judge Parker yesterday.The court heard this after State advocate Sandra Miller closed the State’s case against the three accused men.Miller called 15 witnesses to testify during the trial, which began on Thursday last week.The first of these witnesses, Detective Warrant Officer George Xoagub, told the court that Kondja had admitted to him that he had shot Mooren during a robbery.Kondja also told him that he took Mooren’s handbag from her during the robbery and handed it to Kamati moments later, and that taxi driver Shiwalo had also been involved in the planning of the robbery, Xoagub testified.The court further heard that Kondja, who at the start of the trial admitted that he had killed Mooren by shooting her twice during a robbery on a beach, had also implicated Kamati and Shiwalo in a statement he made before a Magistrate at Walvis Bay a few hours after his arrest less than an hour after Mooren had been robbed and killed.He repeated a claim that he had given the handbag to a waiting Kamati moments after the robbery a few weeks after his arrest, when he pointed out the scene of the robbery to a senior Police detective, the court further heard.These claims about statements by Kondja will however not be considered to be evidence against Kamati and Shiwalo unless Kondja repeats them in his own testimony in court.Other witnesses also mentioned Kamati’s and Shiwalo’s names during the trial.These witnesses included Victor Shiyandja, who was working as a security guard at a nightclub at Swakopmund during August 2004.He told the court on Monday that he saw Kamati and Kondja in each other’s company at the club, Ekandjo Bar, on the evening of August 12 2004.Kamati was regarded as a troublemaker, and he had had to throw Kamati out of the establishment, he claimed.Another employee at the club, Absalom Junias, also told the court on Friday that he had seen Kamati and Kondja with each other at the club that evening.Kondja had earlier been dropped off at the club by Shiwalo, he said.Both Kamati and Shiwalo disputed these claims, but the two witnesses refused to budge on their testimony.