“NOT guilty, my lord,” former Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology employee Ernst Lichtenstrasser said eight times as his double murder trial started in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
Lichtenstrasser, who is accused of murdering the two top executives of the institute (Nimt), Eckhart Mueller (72) and Heimo Hellwig (60), in a shooting at Arandis in the Erongo region during the morning of 15 April 2019, denied guilt on all eight charges he is prosecuted for.
He pleaded not guilty on two counts of murder, as well as charges of possessing a 9 mm pistol and ammunition without a licence, defeating or obstructing the course of justice, theft, possession of a shotgun without a licence, and the unauthorised supply of a shotgun and ammunition to a person.
Legal aid lawyer Albert Titus, who represents Lichtenstrasser (59), told judge Christie Liebenberg his client was electing to remain silent on the murder charges, except to say he was vehemently denying that he shot and killed Mueller and Hellwig.
On the other counts, Titus said Lichtenstrasser denied committing any of the offences.
Mueller and Hellwig were killed when they were gunned down upon their arrival at the Nimt head office at Arandis for the start of their workday.
The state is alleging that Lichtenstrasser, who was employed as an instructor in fitting and turning at Nimt’s campus at Tsumeb, used an illegal 9 mm pistol to carry out the double killing.
It is also alleged that Lichtenstrasser had been dissatisfied with a decision, over which Mueller and Hellwig had been adamant, to transfer him from Tsumeb to Nimt’s Keetmanshoop campus.
In its indictment, the prosecution is further alleging that Lichtenstrasser had driven from Otavi, where he was living, to the Arandis area on the day before the killings, waited for Mueller and Hellwig at Nimt’s Arandis headquarters, and shot both men upon their arrival.
After the shooting, Lichtenstrasser allegedly fled in his pickup and drove into the desert, where he is alleged to have buried the murder weapon and ammunition.
Hellwig’s wife, Sabine Hellwig, was the first state witness to testify in the trial yesterday.
She told the court her husband left their home at Swakopmund around 06h00 on 15 April 2019 when he was picked up by Mueller, with whom he used to drive from the town to Arandis each working day.
She said she was picked up by a minibus shortly afterwards to travel to Arandis, where she is employed at Nimt as head of the institute’s libraries.
When the minibus arrived at Arandis, the main building of Nimt was found cordoned off and she was informed there had been a shooting and her husband and Mueller had died, she recounted.
The prosecution’s second witness, Peter van Eeden, told the court that Lichtenstrasser visited his farm between Tsumeb and Otavi several times to use a shooting range at the property.
Van Eeden said the last time Lichtenstrasser visited his farm to do target shooting at the shooting range was on 13 April 2019.
After the killings at Arandis, the police visited his farm and picked up spent cartridges at the shooting range which they said were for forensic examination, Van Eeden told the court.
The trial continues.
Lichtenstrasser was arrested at Karibib during the evening of 16 April 2019.
He has remained in custody since then.
Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef is representing the state.
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
