Court to have last word on murder trial assault claims

A RULING that might yet determine the outcome of the trial of four men accused of kidnapping, gang-raping and murdering a young mother of two children in Windhoek in May 2005 is now in the hands of the Acting Judge presiding over the four suspects’ trial in the High Court in Windhoek.

Acting Judge Claus Hinrichsen yesterday heard the last arguments from State Advocate Ed Marondedze and defence lawyer Profysen Muluti in a trial within a trial on the admissibility of a self-incriminating statement that Muluti’s client, Jonathan Ashipala Taapopi (22), made to the Police after his arrest in mid-May 2005. Muluti has objected to the statement being used as evidence in the trial of Ashipala and three co-accused, Sam Angolo (24), Stefanus Lazarus (28) and Thomas Phillemon (27).He claims the statement was not made freely and voluntarily.All four pleaded not guilty to a total of 18 charges when the trial started two weeks ago.They are jointly charged with counts of kidnapping and murder, while each also faces four counts of rape on his own.The prosecution alleges they were involved in kidnapping Theresia Afrikaner, a 23-year-old mother of two, from a bar in Windhoek’s Okuryangava area during the night of May 13 to 14 2005.It is alleged they dragged Afrikaner into a dry riverbed, gang-raped her and murdered her by strangling her.The trial within a trial on Ashipala’s statement has so far taken up more than half of the time that the main trial has been in progress.In testimony before Acting Judge Hinrichsen last week, Ashipala claimed Police officers who were interrogating him after his arrest assaulted him by slapping, punching and kicking him.He further claimed that they also put him through a terrifying experience by putting him in a room with dead bodies, including the remains of Afrikaner, at the Police Mortuary in Windhoek.Police officers involved in the interrogation of Ashipala and Angolo all denied having carried out any assaults or witnessed something in that vein when they also testified in the trial within a trial last week.The last of these Police witnesses, Detective Sergeant Jacky Kantema, told Acting Judge Hinrichsen on Friday that he had in fact provided his own cellphone to the four suspects so that they could phone their families after their arrest and after the alleged assaults on Ashipala and Angolo had supposedly started.This was not something that one would have expected him to have done, had the claims of assaults been true, he said.He added that Angolo’s aunt, whom he described as a high-ranking Government official, was called to see Angolo and bring him some clothes following his arrest.If Angolo had been assaulted, he could have used that opportunity to report it to his aunt, Kantema said.Marondedze argued yesterday that the allegations that Ashipala and Angolo had been assaulted had not been substantiated.He argued that claims that Ashipala had not made the statement in issue freely and voluntarily were an afterthought.Muluti, however, argued that the prosecution had not managed to prove that Ashipala had made the statement freely and voluntarily.At the time of his arrest, Ashipala was 19 years old, Muluti pointed out.He argued that the Police exploited Ashipala’s youthfulness by exerting pressure on him to get him to make a statement to them.Ashipala’s rights were also not fully explained to him and undue influence was used to get him to make the statement, Muluti argued.The four charged men are scheduled to return to court on Friday, when Acting Judge Hinrichsen is expected to give an indication when his ruling in the trial within a trial will be made.Muluti has objected to the statement being used as evidence in the trial of Ashipala and three co-accused, Sam Angolo (24), Stefanus Lazarus (28) and Thomas Phillemon (27).He claims the statement was not made freely and voluntarily.All four pleaded not guilty to a total of 18 charges when the trial started two weeks ago.They are jointly charged with counts of kidnapping and murder, while each also faces four counts of rape on his own.The prosecution alleges they were involved in kidnapping Theresia Afrikaner, a 23-year-old mother of two, from a bar in Windhoek’s Okuryangava area during the night of May 13 to 14 2005.It is alleged they dragged Afrikaner into a dry riverbed, gang-raped her and murdered her by strangling her.The trial within a trial on Ashipala’s statement has so far taken up more than half of the time that the main trial has been in progress.In testimony before Acting Judge Hinrichsen last week, Ashipala claimed Police officers who were interrogating him after his arrest assaulted him by slapping, punching and kicking him.He further claimed that they also put him through a terrifying experience by putting him in a room with dead bodies, including the remains of Afrikaner, at the Police Mortuary in Windhoek.Police officers involved in the interrogation of Ashipala and Angolo all denied having carried out any assaults or witnessed something in that vein when they also testified in the trial within a trial last week.The last of these Police witnesses, Detective Sergeant Jacky Kantema, told Acting Judge Hinrichsen on Friday that he had in fact provided his own cellphone to the four suspects so that they could phone their families after their arrest and after the alleged assaults on Ashipala and Angolo had supposedly started.This was not something that one would have expected him to have done, had the claims of assaults been true, he said.He added that Angolo’s aunt, whom he described as a high-ranking Government official, was called to see Angolo and bring him some clothes following his arrest.If Angolo had been assaulted, he could have used that opportunity to report it to his aunt, Kantema said.Marondedze argued yesterday that the allegations that Ashipala and Angolo had been assaulted had not been substantiated.He argued that claims that Ashipala had not made the statement in issue freely and voluntarily were an afterthought.Muluti, however, argued that the prosecution had not managed to prove that Ashipala had made the statement freely and voluntarily.At the time of his arrest, Ashipala was 19 years old, Muluti pointed out.He argued that the Police exploited Ashipala’s youthfulness by exerting pressure on him to get him to make a statement to them.Ashipala’s rights were also not fully explained to him and undue influence was used to get him to make the statement, Muluti argued.The four charged men are scheduled to return to court on Friday, when Acting Judge Hinrichsen is expected to give an indication when his ruling in the trial within a trial will be made.