Farmer’s child-murder case lands in High Court

Accused of killing girl (9)

A Mariental farmer accused of killing a girl (9) by driving over her with his pickup has made his first appearance in the Windhoek High Court on a charge of murder.

Johan Meyer (53) made his first pretrial appearance in the High Court, where he is due to stand trial on counts of murder and attempted murder, yesterday.

Meyer’s case was transferred from the Mariental Magistrate’s Court to the High Court on 4 April.

During his court appearance yesterday, defence lawyer Johan van Vuuren informed judge Nate Ndauendapo that Meyer has appointed South African legal counsel to represent him during his trial.

The lawyer has indicated he would be able to provide a reply to a pretrial memorandum of the state, through which it should be established which issues in the matter are in dispute or are admitted, by 7 July, Van Vuuren said.

Meyer is accused of killing Hendriena Mupolo and trying to kill a boy (12) at his plot at the Hardap irrigation scheme near Mariental on 1 May 2022.
The state is alleging that Meyer chased after the boy with his pickup before the boy managed to run out of the way of the vehicle.

It is also alleged that Meyer hit Hendriena with the vehicle. She was fatally injured.

The incident took place after Meyer had found people stealing crops in his fields, the state is alleging.

DEFENCE VERSION
Meyer denied guilt on a charge of murder, alternatively culpable homicide, in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court in December last year.

In a written plea explanation given to the court, he admitted that his vehicle ran over Hendriena while he was driving through a crop field and that she suffered fatal injuries.

However, Meyer denied that he unlawfully, intentionally or negligently cause her death.

Meyer related in his plea statement that he had found at least 20 people stealing beans on his crop fields in the morning of 1 May 2022.

He said he drove on a road between the fields to a young man who was stealing beans, and yelled at the man, telling him to leave his property.

“As he did not react, I drove closer to him and he then ran away towards the river,” Meyer said.

He then drove to a woman who was also stealing beans and told her to leave his property, Meyer continued.

He said he kept on driving through the bean field, going at an angle over soil embankments and rows of harvested beans that were about 50 centimetres high and nine metres apart.

According to Meyer, he was driving “very slowly” at about 10 to 15 kilometres per hour.

“I drove over four soil embankments and four windrows and while I was driving over the next windrow, the deceased suddenly jumped up from behind the windrow over which I was driving,” Meyer stated.

“She almost immediately fell down, approximately one metre in front of the bakkie. I presume that she had slipped on the leaves of the bean plants as she tried to run away.

“I immediately tried to avoid running over the deceased by braking and trying to swerve but she fell too close to the vehicle and it ran over her.”
Meyer claimed as well: “When I first saw the deceased, I was virtually on top of her and as she fell in front of my vehicle, it ran over her.

The incident was unavoidable. I accordingly deny that I intentionally drove over the deceased after she had fallen in front of my bakkie or that I was negligent in any way.”

Ndauendapo postponed Meyer’s case to 16 July for a second pretrial hearing to take place.
Meyer is free on bail in an amount of N$3 000, which was granted to him on 3 May 2022.

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