Gobabis bakkie murder trial verdict set for September

A Gobabis resident accused of killing a woman when he hit her with a car after he had been asked to stop spinning its wheels is due to receive a verdict in his murder trial in the Windhoek High Court in September.

Acting judge Makapa Simasiku postponed the delivery of his judgement in the trial of Denzil Dawids (25) to 22 September after hearing closing oral arguments from state advocate Basson Lilungwe and defence lawyer Sisa Namandje yesterday.

Lilungwe argued that Dawids should be found guilty on all of the charges he is facing. Namandje, however, argued that the state did not prove Dawids’ guilt on any of the charges.

Dawids is charged with one count of murder, one charge of reckless or negligent driving, two counts of attempted murder, two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and counts of assault and malicious damage to property.

The state is alleging that he murdered a woman, Yolande McCullum (38) at Gobabis on 1 October 2023 by intentionally hitting her with a bakkie that he was driving.

The state is also alleging that Dawids was driving the bakkie recklessly or negligently during the same incident, and attempted to murder two other people as well by driving in their direction at high speed.

After the collision in which McCullum was fatally injured and another car was damaged, Dawids allegedly assaulted two people at the scene.

The fatal collision took place in the Nossobville area of Gobabis, and was preceded by an incident at a bar in the Epako area, where Dawids allegedly assaulted a man who had asked him to stop spinning his bakkie’s wheels.

Another person in turn assaulted Dawids at the bar by hitting him with a bottle, and Dawids after that followed the person who had asked him to stop spinning his bakkie’s wheels when he and some of his friends drove away to Nossobville.

Lilungwe acknowledged in his address to the judge yesterday that some of the state’s witnesses contradicted each other when they testified, but added that this did not mean they were not credible witnesses.

The evidence showed Dawids drove in the direction of people at the scene of the collision, Lilungwe argued.

He added that Dawids was targeting those people and his intention was to kill someone, regardless of whether it was going to be McCullum or someone else. By driving at a high speed in a motor vehicle, which is a lethal weapon, Dawids had an intention to kill, he also argued.

Namandje argued that the state’s witnesses were partisan and biased.

There is no evidence showing that Dawids even knew of McCullum’s presence at the scene where he crashed into another car and his bakkie hit her, too, Namandje argued.

He recounted that according to Dawids and one other witness, stones were thrown at Dawids’ car when he arrived at the scene at Nossobville.

Dawids also told the court he faced a sudden emergency when he saw someone in the street in front of his vehicle, before the bakkie veered off the road and crashed into the side of a car parked at the scene.

Namandje also argued that the state’s case was weakened by a poor police investigation.

“I submit the state failed to prove its charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Namandje said, before asking the judge to acquit Dawids on all of the charges.

Dawids is being held in custody.

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.