Delayed justice wins another round in child murder case

A TWO-WEEK time slot set aside for the High Court trial of a formerly destitute child accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old boy in Windhoek three and a half years ago had to be abandoned unused last week.

The trial of Deon Engelbrecht (22), who was a homeless child in Windhoek when he allegedly raped and murdered 14-year-old Christo Moshoeshoe in a riverbed near the Southern Industrial Area on the afternoon of December 23 2003, had been set to start before Judge Mavis Gibson last Monday. The trial failed to begin after defence lawyer Ivo dos Santos, who had been instructed by the Directorate of Legal Aid to represent Engelbrecht, told the Judge on Monday that Engelbrecht had told him that morning that he no longer wanted Dos Santos to represent him.As a result, Judge Gibson postponed Engelbrecht’s case to Thursday so that the Directorate of Legal Aid could interview Engelbrecht again and find another lawyer to represent him.By Thursday, though, no representative of the Directorate was present at court when the case was called again.It took a threat from Judge Gibson, who warned that she would issue a subpoena for the Director of Legal Aid or a representative to be brought to court, before any reaction came from that department of the Ministry of Justice and its Deputy Director, Patience Daringo, rushed to court to deal with the matter.State advocate Andrew Muvirimi, who is set to conduct the prosecution against Engelbrecht, told the Judge that he had faxed a letter to the Directorate on Monday to advise them that Engelbrecht had lost his legal representation and that the court had directed that they should look into assigning another defence lawyer.According to Daringo, though, the Directorate had not yet received notice from the lawyer representing Engelbrecht that the latter was no longer legally represented.She added that the Directorate was not aware of any order of the court in connection with Engelbrecht’s legal representation either.The three-day lack of action on the part of the Directorate still drew some cutting comments from Judge Gibson.Engelbrecht is charged with “very, very grave offences” in a case that is very old and that now had to be finalised, she said.”It is a very grave situation and I view it as such,” she remarked.”It almost appears to me as contempt of court by your offices,” she told Daringo in connection with the Directorate’s failure to have used the intervening days to instruct another lawyer to represent Engelbrecht.After another postponement for another day, lawyer Edwin Coetzee appeared before Judge Gibson on Friday as Engelbrecht’s newly instructed legal representative.Coetzee however told the Judge that he needed time to prepare.The result was that the second week set aside for the trial – running to the end of this week – will also not be utilised.Engelbrecht will now have to return to the High Court for a further pre-trial appearance on September 20.He remains in custody – where he has been for more than three years and six months now, since his arrest on December 23 2003.Engelbrecht faces two main charges of murder and rape.Under the rape charge he also faces three alternative charges of contravening sections of the Combating of Immoral Practices Act.It is alleged that he raped Moshoeshoe, who attended school at Kalkrand and was visiting his parents’ home in Windhoek for the year-end holidays, and killed the younger boy by smashing in his head with a heavy kerb stone and a piece of cement brick.Engelbrecht was 19 years old at the time of the incident.The trial failed to begin after defence lawyer Ivo dos Santos, who had been instructed by the Directorate of Legal Aid to represent Engelbrecht, told the Judge on Monday that Engelbrecht had told him that morning that he no longer wanted Dos Santos to represent him.As a result, Judge Gibson postponed Engelbrecht’s case to Thursday so that the Directorate of Legal Aid could interview Engelbrecht again and find another lawyer to represent him.By Thursday, though, no representative of the Directorate was present at court when the case was called again.It took a threat from Judge Gibson, who warned that she would issue a subpoena for the Director of Legal Aid or a representative to be brought to court, before any reaction came from that department of the Ministry of Justice and its Deputy Director, Patience Daringo, rushed to court to deal with the matter.State advocate Andrew Muvirimi, who is set to conduct the prosecution against Engelbrecht, told the Judge that he had faxed a letter to the Directorate on Monday to advise them that Engelbrecht had lost his legal representation and that the court had directed that they should look into assigning another defence lawyer.According to Daringo, though, the Directorate had not yet received notice from the lawyer representing Engelbrecht that the latter was no longer legally represented.She added that the Directorate was not aware of any order of the court in connection with Engelbrecht’s legal representation either.The three-day lack of action on the part of the Directorate still drew some cutting comments from Judge Gibson.Engelbrecht is charged with “very, very grave offences” in a case that is very old and that now had to be finalised, she said.”It is a very grave situation and I view it as such,” she remarked.”It almost appears to me as contempt of court by your offices,” she told Daringo in connection with the Directorate’s failure to have used the intervening days to instruct another lawyer to represent Engelbrecht.After another postponement for another day, lawyer Edwin Coetzee appeared before Judge Gibson on Friday as Engelbrecht’s newly instructed legal representative.Coetzee however told the Judge that he needed time to prepare.The result was that the second week set aside for the trial – running to the end of this week – will also not be utilised.Engelbrecht will now have to return to the High Court for a further pre-trial appearance on September 20.He remains in custody – where he has been for more than three years and six months now, since his arrest on December 23 2003.Engelbrecht faces two main charges of murder and rape.Under the rape charge he also faces three alternative charges of contravening sections of the Combating of Immoral Practices Act.It is alleged that he raped Moshoeshoe, who attended school at Kalkrand and was visiting his parents’ home in Windhoek for the year-end holidays, and killed the younger boy by smashing in his head with a heavy kerb stone and a piece of cement brick.Engelbrecht was 19 years old at the time of the incident.