Delayed justice gets armed robbery suspects off hook

DELAY upon delay and postponement upon postponement in an armed robbery case that had been pending in court for almost three years finally exhausted the patience of a Windhoek resident last week, prompting him to withdraw charges against three alleged robbers.

“This is indeed a sad day, but it is a reality that the walls of justice are apparently crumbling and falling down before lawless people,” Windhoek Regional Court Magistrate Gert Retief remarked on Thursday, when he had to acquit two armed robbery suspects. This came after the complainant had told the court that he was no longer interested in continuing with the case.With withdrawal of the charges by the complainant, Klaus Lemke, the Magistrate had no choice but to pronounce armed robbery suspects Yu Zin and Thompson Nkunkuru not guilty.They were told that they had been acquitted, since the State closed its case against them without leading any evidence except for the testimony of Lemke.For Chinese national Yu last week’s development also meant release from a second serious criminal case in which he had been an accused over the past three years.Yu was already free on bail on the armed robbery case when he was involved in a shooting incident in a Chinese restaurant at the Windhoek Country Club Resort in March 2002.In that incident, the wheelchair-bound Yu was in the process of assaulting another Chinese resident of Namibia by bashing him over the head with a stone that was wrapped in a cloth napkin when an associate of his entered the restaurant with a concealed R4 assault rifle, spraying the room with gunfire, wounding a Chinese businessman in the legs.Yu went on to plead guilty to a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in June 2002, and was sentenced to a fine of N$5 500 or 18 months’ imprisonment.In his evidence last week, Lemke attributed his decision not to continue with the case against the people that he accused of robbing him at gunpoint at his Windhoek home on May 26 2001 to the succession of delays and postponements that had marked the case.In terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, charges cannot be withdrawn against an accused person after that person had pleaded to the charges.If the State no longer wants to continue with the prosecution of someone after he or she has pleaded to a charge, a court has to pronounce that person as not guilty.Because a co-accused of the duo, Andy Charity Eiseb, had not yet pleaded to the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances that the trio faced, he was told on Thursday that the charge against him was being withdrawn.With that withdrawal, Eiseb was released from Police custody, where he had waited for his case to go on trial for nearly three years.Lemke told the Magistrate that he had tried to have the case withdrawn since April 2002, when he first wrote a letter in that regard to the Minister of Justice.One of the reasons for wanting to do so, he said, was that “justice damaged me with postponements very much more than any robber with their deed”.He explained that he had been summoned to be at court for the case several times, with the result that each time he had to abandon his work only to see the case postponed again.Also, said Lemke, he and his family now wanted to be released from the case and to be left in peace.They were not interested in revenge or a strong punishment for the people who had robbed him, he said.He added that the items that he was robbed of – mostly household goods such as a stove, washing machine, lounge suite and bed, together valued at some N$23 000 – had in any event been recovered and returned to him.It was alleged that the stolen goods were found stored at premises under Yu’s control.While Yu, Nkunkuru and Eiseb are now off the hook, a fourth former co-accused of theirs, George Hangula, was not so lucky.He was gravely ill when he pleaded guilty to the robbery charge in May 2002 and promised that he would be willing to testify against the other three suspects.Yu had promised to pay him N$5 000 for helping to carry out the robbery, Hangula had claimed.Hangula however never got the chance to testify against his co-accused.He died, at the age of 27, within a week of being sentenced to an effective four years’ imprisonment.This came after the complainant had told the court that he was no longer interested in continuing with the case.With withdrawal of the charges by the complainant, Klaus Lemke, the Magistrate had no choice but to pronounce armed robbery suspects Yu Zin and Thompson Nkunkuru not guilty.They were told that they had been acquitted, since the State closed its case against them without leading any evidence except for the testimony of Lemke.For Chinese national Yu last week’s development also meant release from a second serious criminal case in which he had been an accused over the past three years.Yu was already free on bail on the armed robbery case when he was involved in a shooting incident in a Chinese restaurant at the Windhoek Country Club Resort in March 2002.In that incident, the wheelchair-bound Yu was in the process of assaulting another Chinese resident of Namibia by bashing him over the head with a stone that was wrapped in a cloth napkin when an associate of his entered the restaurant with a concealed R4 assault rifle, spraying the room with gunfire, wounding a Chinese businessman in the legs.Yu went on to plead guilty to a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in June 2002, and was sentenced to a fine of N$5 500 or 18 months’ imprisonment.In his evidence last week, Lemke attributed his decision not to continue with the case against the people that he accused of robbing him at gunpoint at his Windhoek home on May 26 2001 to the succession of delays and postponements that had marked the case.In terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, charges cannot be withdrawn against an accused person after that person had pleaded to the charges.If the State no longer wants to continue with the prosecution of someone after he or she has pleaded to a charge, a court has to pronounce that person as not guilty.Because a co-accused of the duo, Andy Charity Eiseb, had not yet pleaded to the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances that the trio faced, he was told on Thursday that the charge against him was being withdrawn.With that withdrawal, Eiseb was released from Police custody, where he had waited for his case to go on trial for nearly three years.Lemke told the Magistrate that he had tried to have the case withdrawn since April 2002, when he first wrote a letter in that regard to the Minister of Justice.One of the reasons for wanting to do so, he said, was that “justice damaged me with postponements very much more than any robber with their deed”.He explained that he had been summoned to be at court for the case several times, with the result that each time he had to abandon his work only to see the case postponed again.Also, said Lemke, he and his family now wanted to be released from the case and to be left in peace.They were not interested in revenge or a strong punishment for the people who had robbed him, he said.He added that the items that he was robbed of – mostly household goods such as a stove, washing machine, lounge suite and bed, together valued at some N$23 000 – had in any event been recovered and returned to him.It was alleged that the stolen goods were found stored at premises under Yu’s control.While Yu, Nkunkuru and Eiseb are now off the hook, a fourth former co-accused of theirs, George Hangula, was not so lucky.He was gravely ill when he pleaded guilty to the robbery charge in May 2002 and promised that he would be willing to testify against the other three suspects.Yu had promised to pay him N$5 000 for helping to carry out the robbery, Hangula had claimed.Hangula however never got the chance to testify against his co-accused.He died, at the age of 27, within a week of being sentenced to an effective four years’ imprisonment.