Kandara inquest returns to life …

THE Kandara inquest is back on track.

Close to 10 months after a first inquest into the circumstances of the gunshot death of Lazarus Kandara was stopped after four days of proceedings in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court, the first steps to get a second inquest off the ground were taken in Windhoek last week. A veteran Magistrate who came out of retirement last year to again take up a post as judicial officer has now been assigned the task of conducting a new inquest into Kandara’s death.A gunshot wound to his chest ended Kandara’s life in front of the entrance to the Windhoek Police Station on the evening of August 24 2005.At the time, Kandara headed an ill-fated asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, that controversially scooped a N$30 million investment from the Social Security Commission in early 2005.He died at the age of 40 only hours after he was arrested on charges of fraud and theft as a result of Avid’s inability to repay the SSC’s investment millions.Kandara allegedly died at his own hand, but under circumstances that gave rise to claims of Police negligence in the hours between his arrest and the fatal shooting incident.In those hours, members of the Police’s Serious Crime Unit escorted him to his home in Windhoek, where he was allowed to have a bath and collect items that included a change of clothing, medication and bedding in preparation for the time he was expected to spend in Police custody.A firearm registered in his name, which is claimed to have been the weapon with which he was shot, may also have been amongst the items that he collected from the house – but this remains one of the key issues that would have to be resolved in the findings that are to be made at an inquest into his death.The Namibian reported on Tuesday that a second inquest into the death of Kandara remained in legal limbo almost seven months after the High Court ordered that the Magistrate who presided at an initial inquest in March last year should have recused herself when Police officers involved in the arrest and detention of Kandara objected to her presiding at the inquest.The officers claimed that they feared she would not be able to be impartial, since she had, according to their claims, attended Kandara’s funeral at Otjiwarongo.When it ordered that the initial inquest Magistrate should have recused herself, the High Court also directed that the inquest had to be held from the start again before a different Magistrate.Since that order was given on June 26 last year, the inquest has remained suspended, with senior past and still serving officials in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court telling The Namibian early last week that the inquest had not restarted because reasons for the High Court recusal judgement were being awaited.’NO NEED’ There was no need to wait for such reasons, though, the Chairperson of the Magistrates’ Commission, Judge Sylvester Mainga, told The Namibian on Friday.The High Court has already ordered that the initial Magistrate should have recused herself from presiding at the inquest and that the inquest should start afresh before another Magistrate; the court’s reasons for this order would only say why the order was made, and as a result the outstanding reasons should not impede the start of a new inquest, the Judge said.He said after the publication of the newspaper report on the inquest remaining in limbo after the recusal order had been given, he and Judge President Petrus Damaseb discussed the issue, whereafter he contacted the Chief: Lower Courts in the Ministry of Justice, Petrus Unengu, to take up the matter with him.The Acting Chief Magistrate for the Windhoek district, Desmond Beukes, was in turn contacted, and by Thursday the result of these discussions was that veteran Magistrate Frikkie Truter was assigned the duty of conducting a new inquest, Judge Mainga said.Truter, a former Chief: Lower Courts who came out of retirement when he accepted a two-year appointment as Magistrate in April last year, confirmed later on Friday that he had received instructions to take over the inquest.DECISIONS The inquest docket still has to be sent to him, though, whereafter he would have to study its contents to decide in what form – whether public or private – the inquest would be held, Truter said.He added that given the public profile of Kandara’s death, he would imagine that he would probably hold a public inquest where oral testimony would be heard from witnesses.He would however still have to decide which witnesses would have to be subpoenaed to give evidence, while a State Prosecutor would also still have to be instructed to represent the State at the inquest and courtroom facilities would have to be found for the proceedings before it would be possible to begin with a new inquest.A veteran Magistrate who came out of retirement last year to again take up a post as judicial officer has now been assigned the task of conducting a new inquest into Kandara’s death.A gunshot wound to his chest ended Kandara’s life in front of the entrance to the Windhoek Police Station on the evening of August 24 2005.At the time, Kandara headed an ill-fated asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, that controversially scooped a N$30 million investment from the Social Security Commission in early 2005.He died at the age of 40 only hours after he was arrested on charges of fraud and theft as a result of Avid’s inability to repay the SSC’s investment millions.Kandara allegedly died at his own hand, but under circumstances that gave rise to claims of Police negligence in the hours between his arrest and the fatal shooting incident.In those hours, members of the Police’s Serious Crime Unit escorted him to his home in Windhoek, where he was allowed to have a bath and collect items that included a change of clothing, medication and bedding in preparation for the time he was expected to spend in Police custody. A firearm registered in his name, which is claimed to have been the weapon with which he was shot, may also have been amongst the items that he collected from the house – but this remains one of the key issues that would have to be resolved in the findings that are to be made at an inquest into his death.The Namibian reported on Tuesday that a second inquest into the death of Kandara remained in legal limbo almost seven months after the High Court ordered that the Magistrate who presided at an initial inquest in March last year should have recused herself when Police officers involved in the arrest and detention of Kandara objected to her presiding at the inquest.The officers claimed that they feared she would not be able to be impartial, since she had, according to their claims, attended Kandara’s funeral at Otjiwarongo.When it ordered that the initial inquest Magistrate should have recused herself, the High Court also directed that the inquest had to be held from the start again before a different Magistrate.Since that order was given on June 26 last year, the inquest has remained suspended, with senior past and still serving officials in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court telling The Namibian early last week that the inquest had not restarted because reasons for the High Court recusal judgement were being awaited.’NO NEED’ There was no need to wait for such reasons, though, the Chairperson of the Magistrates’ Commission, Judge Sylvester Mainga, told The Namibian on Friday.The High Court has already ordered that the initial Magistrate should have recused herself from presiding at the inquest and that the inquest should start afresh before another Magistrate; the court’s reasons for this order would only say why the order was made, and as a result the outstanding reasons should not impede the start of a new inquest, the Judge said.He said after the publication of the newspaper report on the inquest remaining in limbo after the recusal order had been given, he and Judge President Petrus Damaseb discussed the issue, whereafter he contacted the Chief: Lower Courts in the Ministry of Justice, Petrus Unengu, to take up the matter with him.The Acting Chief Magistrate for the Windhoek
district, Desmond Beukes, was in turn contacted, and by Thursday the result of these discussions was that veteran Magistrate Frikkie Truter was assigned the duty of conducting a new inquest, Judge Mainga said.Truter, a former Chief: Lower Courts who came out of retirement when he accepted a two-year appointment as Magistrate in April last year, confirmed later on Friday that he had received instructions to take over the inquest.DECISIONS The inquest docket still has to be sent to him, though, whereafter he would have to study its contents to decide in what form – whether public or private – the inquest would be held, Truter said.He added that given the public profile of Kandara’s death, he would imagine that he would probably hold a public inquest where oral testimony would be heard from witnesses.He would however still have to decide which witnesses would have to be subpoenaed to give evidence, while a State Prosecutor would also still have to be instructed to represent the State at the inquest and courtroom facilities would have to be found for the proceedings before it would be possible to begin with a new inquest.