First 3 armed robbery suspects denied bail

NANDE Valombola, the youngest surviving member of the gang charged with last week’s foiled robbery at Windhoek’s Pool Bar gambling house, yesterday limped into the dock for his first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court with two of his co-accused.

Valombola was wearing a colostomy bag – which collects the waste of patients whose colons have been removed – but this was not because of wounds sustained in the bloody shootout with the Police in Independence Avenue on Thursday morning. Two alleged armed robbers were shot dead and two more were seriously wounded, but Valombola was not one of them. Commenting to Magistrate Claudia Claasen as to why he was slumping and limping, Valombola said he recently underwent surgery as a result of injuries sustained before Thursday’s robbery.It is still unknown how those injuries came about. The Police said yesterday that they were checking hisrecords for possible other criminal cases against him. The 28 – year – old Valombola was the last of the seven-member gang arrested on Thursday, and was found inside the Pool Bar more than fivehours after the Police had cordoned off the crime scene. Staff at the gambling house said yesterday thatValombola was found hiding in a storage room. A Police source said officers found Valombolalying on the floor wounded. It is alleged that one of his alleged accomplices implicated him in the robbery.The shootout started at around 11h00, after the suspects allegedly stormed the bar and demanded money from the bartender. They allegedly pointed a firearm at the woman and patrons in the bar at the time.City Police members patrolling the area spotted the alleged robbers as they fled the bar, and other people on the street had to run for cover in nearby shops as gunshots rang out – and continued for the next15 minutes. One of the suspects was fatally shot in the chest as he fled down IndependenceAvenue. Another was shot in the head after making it afew blocks down into Tal Street.They were identified over the weekend as David Ndume (25) and TuhafeniKakololo. The driver of the white Citigolf taxi that was allegedly used as a getawayvehicle was shot in the thigh. Two of the alleged robbers, Lisias Amwaama (35) and Titus Shooya (34), were arrested at the scene and suffered no injuries. One staff member of the Pool Bar was injured, reportedly by a Police bullet, after being shot through the door of a toilet stall. Police at the scene saidthe worker had ignored Police orders to come out of hiding. No Police officers were injured during theincident. Valombola, Amwaama and Shooya all said in court yesterday that they intend to conduct their own legal defence when the case goes to trial. The three were denied bail because of the seriousnessof the charges against them and the fact that two of their co-accused – who are in hospital – are yet tojoin them. They were advised of their right to formally apply for bail. They will thus remainin Police custody until their next court date on June 23.While the Police said yesterday that the amount of money stolen from the Pool Bar had not yet been determined, the three men’s charge sheets gave the amount at approximately N$20 000.A number of the suspects in this case had been implicated in previous criminal cases. Kakololo had been awaiting retrial on charges of attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. He had previously been found guilty on these charges and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on March 27, 2001. His conviction was set aside on appeal in the High Court, after it was found that there was an irregularity in his trial because he was not legally represented. One of the two suspects in hospital, who will appear in court once he is discharged, is also linked to a previous case dating back to 2006, a Police spokesperson said yesterday.denver@namibian.com.na