Juvenile murder suspect gets bail

THERE were mixed emotions in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court yesterday when the boy charged with murdering 17-year-old Duarte Hendrickse in Khomasdal last week was granted bail.

The families of both the late Hendrickse and the 15-year-old accused of fatally stabbing him in front of the David Bezuidenhout Secondary School last weekend were present during the latter’s formal bail application. The application was opposed by State Prosecutor Letta Amakali, who felt that it would be in the public interest for the boy to remain in custody until judgement in the case against him is reached.He might interfere with the Police’s investigation, she said, later adding in her concluding statement that keeping him locked up would prevent possible retaliation against him.This argument was opposed, however, by the first witness Amakali called to the stand.Constable Agrippina Iipwaakena said her investigation into Hendrickse’s murder was close to completion, and that the boy posed no threat to it.He might know some of the witnesses, she acknowledged, but maintained that she did not consider his release from custody a threat.”I don’t have enough grounds to (say) keep him,” she told Magistrate Cosmos Endjala.Hendrickse’s father, Max Egelser, also did not oppose the application, but asked that the court, out of respect for his family, postpone the boy’s release until after his son’s funeral, which is set for this Saturday.The death of his son shocked and traumatised his family, Egelser said, and his remaining children have needed psychiatric care following the murder.”I do not have any objection against this boy being granted bail, but let it be after the funeral.This is my personal opinion, but I’d like the court to take its course,” he said.Egelser said during cross-examination that the suspect’s parents had visited him and his wife and apologised for the hurt they had been caused.His family appreciated this gesture, he said, although this did not take away the pain they felt.Following testimony by these two witnesses, Magistrate Endjala granted the accused bail and released him into the custody of his parents.The boy, along with his parents, is to return to court on September 28.”Murder is a serious offence, and the court shares sympathy with the family, especially since he (Hendrickse) has not yet been buried,” Endjala said in his judgement.However, based on the evidence given, the age of the suspect, and his constitutional right to remain innocent until proven guilty, he had decided to grant him bail.The accused was represented by Bradley Basson from Olivier’s Law Office.The murder happened in front of the David Bezuidenhout Secondary School in Khomasdal last Saturday night.Hendrickse was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver, and died a day later in the Medi-Clinic Hospital.The suspect was arrested and taken into custody the following day.The application was opposed by State Prosecutor Letta Amakali, who felt that it would be in the public interest for the boy to remain in custody until judgement in the case against him is reached.He might interfere with the Police’s investigation, she said, later adding in her concluding statement that keeping him locked up would prevent possible retaliation against him.This argument was opposed, however, by the first witness Amakali called to the stand.Constable Agrippina Iipwaakena said her investigation into Hendrickse’s murder was close to completion, and that the boy posed no threat to it.He might know some of the witnesses, she acknowledged, but maintained that she did not consider his release from custody a threat.”I don’t have enough grounds to (say) keep him,” she told Magistrate Cosmos Endjala.Hendrickse’s father, Max Egelser, also did not oppose the application, but asked that the court, out of respect for his family, postpone the boy’s release until after his son’s funeral, which is set for this Saturday.The death of his son shocked and traumatised his family, Egelser said, and his remaining children have needed psychiatric care following the murder.”I do not have any objection against this boy being granted bail, but let it be after the funeral.This is my personal opinion, but I’d like the court to take its course,” he said.Egelser said during cross-examination that the suspect’s parents had visited him and his wife and apologised for the hurt they had been caused.His family appreciated this gesture, he said, although this did not take away the pain they felt.Following testimony by these two witnesses, Magistrate Endjala granted the accused bail and released him into the custody of his parents.The boy, along with his parents, is to return to court on September 28.”Murder is a serious offence, and the court shares sympathy with the family, especially since he (Hendrickse) has not yet been buried,” Endjala said in his judgement.However, based on the evidence given, the age of the suspect, and his constitutional right to remain innocent until proven guilty, he had decided to grant him bail.The accused was represented by Bradley Basson from Olivier’s Law Office.The murder happened in front of the David Bezuidenhout Secondary School in Khomasdal last Saturday night.Hendrickse was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver, and died a day later in the Medi-Clinic Hospital.The suspect was arrested and taken into custody the following day.