‘Kandara shot himself’

LAZARUS Kandara committed suicide.

This was the main finding of an inquest into Kandara’s death in front of the Windhoek Police Station on the evening of August 24 2005. It was announced by veteran Magistrate Frikkie Truter in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday afternoon.Magistrate Truter took little more than 10 minutes to read out the reasons for his findings before he concluded proceedings in the inquest with two sentences: “According to the evidence before me, the death of Lazarus Kandara was not caused by any act or omission prima facie amounting to or involving an offence on the part of any person.He shot himself with his own pistol.”Only a few reporters were present in court to hear the inquest findings announced by Truter, who is a former Chief: Lower Courts in the Ministry of Justice who made a temporary, post-retirement return to the bench almost a year ago.Kandara’s widow, Christophine Kandara, had been informed of the findings and let the court know that she would not be present to hear them being read out.Kandara, who died at the age of 40, had played a key role in an asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, to which the Social Security Commission was persuaded to entrust a N$30 million investment in January 2005.By the time that the investment was supposed to be returned with interest at the end of a four-month period, though, Avid – of which Kandara was in effect the Chief Executive Officer – was unable to repay the SSC’s investment money.This prompted legal proceedings that led to Avid being declared bankrupt, whereafter the High Court conducted a highly publicised public inquiry into the botched investment deal.Kandara was arrested at the end of his second day of testimony on the investment.A few hours after his arrest he was dead.More than 40 statements that were taken from witnesses who had seen or spoken to Kandara in the last hours before his death formed part of the evidence before him in the inquest, Truter said when announcing the reasons for his findings.He decided not to call for oral evidence on the circumstances of Kandara’s death to be given before him, because except for the witnesses whose statements were already submitted to him, he was not informed of any other witnesses who might have been able to give additional information on what had happened to Kandara on the last evening of his life, the Magistrate said.After being arrested, Magistrate Truter related, Kandara was first taken to the offices of the Police’s Serious Crime Unit (SCU).He later called his wife from there and asked her to go home and to prepare a meal for him.Kandara also spoke to two lawyers at the SCU offices and made a number of phone calls from those offices and from the house of a relative, lawyer Gerson Hinda, on the way to his house, Magistrate Truter recounted.In some of these conversations, Kandara said he was going to kill himself.He appeared to be convinced that if he was to be convicted on the charges on which he had been arrested, he would be sentenced to a long period of imprisonment, the Magistrate recounted the evidence that he had before him.At all times, from the time of his arrest to the time of his death, Kandara was surrounded by people, he remarked.These included three Police officers who accompanied him to his house.However, at no stage was Kandara handcuffed, and at his house there were a few moments when Kandara had an opportunity to get hold of the firearm with which he is claimed to have shot himself, Magistrate Truter also noted.At his house, Kandara ate a meal, then went to take a shower, and changed into a new set of clothes.According to his wife, his pistol was usually kept under his T-shirts in his wardrobe, the Magistrate said.At one point at the house, Kandara was in front of that wardrobe, which his sister-in-law saw him open and close.Although she did not see him take a pistol out of the wardrobe, the evidence was clear that Kandara had an opportunity to remove the gun in the time that he was in front of the wardrobe, according to the Magistrate.He noted that when Kandara left the bedroom, on his way to leaving his house and returning to the Police station, he was not searched by any of the Police officers escorting him.Although no one had seen him take the pistol from the wardrobe, he was seen opening the wardrobe, and put on two of the t-shirts that were kept there, Truter said.At the Police station, after he got out of the car that he and the three Policemen were travelling in, Kandara suddenly had a firearm in his hand, the Magistrate recounted the evidence of the three Police officers at the scene.wKandara at first pointed it at one of the Policemen, Detective Sergeant Linekela Hilundwa, who said to him “don’t shoot” and tried to get out of the way, then pointed it at the other officers who also tried to take cover, and then turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the chest.According to the medical evidence in the inquest docket, the shot ruptured his heart and a major cardiac blood vessel, killing him instantly.According to the evidence before him, Kandara died at his own hand, Magistrate Truter concluded.It was announced by veteran Magistrate Frikkie Truter in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday afternoon.Magistrate Truter took little more than 10 minutes to read out the reasons for his findings before he concluded proceedings in the inquest with two sentences: “According to the evidence before me, the death of Lazarus Kandara was not caused by any act or omission prima facie amounting to or involving an offence on the part of any person.He shot himself with his own pistol.”Only a few reporters were present in court to hear the inquest findings announced by Truter, who is a former Chief: Lower Courts in the Ministry of Justice who made a temporary, post-retirement return to the bench almost a year ago.Kandara’s widow, Christophine Kandara, had been informed of the findings and let the court know that she would not be present to hear them being read out. Kandara, who died at the age of 40, had played a key role in an asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, to which the Social Security Commission was persuaded to entrust a N$30 million investment in January 2005.By the time that the investment was supposed to be returned with interest at the end of a four-month period, though, Avid – of which Kandara was in effect the Chief Executive Officer – was unable to repay the SSC’s investment money.This prompted legal proceedings that led to Avid being declared bankrupt, whereafter the High Court conducted a highly publicised public inquiry into the botched investment deal.Kandara was arrested at the end of his second day of testimony on the investment.A few hours after his arrest he was dead.More than 40 statements that were taken from witnesses who had seen or spoken to Kandara in the last hours before his death formed part of the evidence before him in the inquest, Truter said when announcing the reasons for his findings.He decided not to call for oral evidence on the circumstances of Kandara’s death to be given before him, because except for the witnesses whose statements were already submitted to him, he was not informed of any other witnesses who might have been able to give additional information on what had happened to Kandara on the last evening of his life, the Magistrate said.After being arrested, Magistrate Truter related, Kandara was first taken to the offices of the Police’s Serious Crime Unit (SCU).He later called his wife from there and asked her to go home and to prepare a meal for him.Kandara also spoke to two lawyers at the SCU offices and made a number of phone calls from those offices and from the house of a relative, lawyer Gerson Hinda, on the way to his house, Magistrate Truter recounted.In some of these conversations, Kandara said he was going to kill himself.He appeared to be convinced that if he was to be convicted on the charges on which he had been arrested, he would be sentenced to a long period of imprisonment, the Magistrate recounted the evidence that he had before him.At all times, from the time of his arrest to the time of his death, Kandara was surrounded by people, he remarked.These included three Police officers who accompanied him to his house.However, at no stage was Kandara handcuffed, and at his house there were a few moments when Kandara had an opportunity to get hold of the firearm with which he is claimed to have shot himself, Magistrate Truter also noted.At his house, Kandara ate a meal, then went to take a shower, and changed into a new set of clothes.According to his wife, his pistol was usually kept under his T-shirts in his wardrobe, the Magistrate said.At one point at the house, Kandara was in front of that wardrobe, which his sister-in-law saw him open and close.Although she did not see him take a pistol out of the wardrobe, the evidence was clear that Kandara had an opportunity to remove the gun in the time that he was in front of the wardrobe, according to the Magistrate.He noted that when Kandara left the bedroom, on his way to leaving his house and returning to the Police station, he was not searched by any of the Police officers escorting him.Although no one had seen him take the pistol from the wardrobe, he was seen opening the wardrobe, and put on two of the t-shirts that were kept there, Truter said.At the Police station, after he got out of the car that he and the three Policemen were travelling in, Kandara suddenly had a firearm in his hand, the Magistrate recounted the evidence of the three Police officers at the scene.wKandara at first pointed it at one of the Policemen, Detective Sergeant Linekela Hilundwa, who said to him “don’t shoot” and tried to get out of the way, then pointed it at the other officers who also tried to take cover, and then turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the chest.According to the medical evidence in the inquest docket, the shot ruptured his heart and a major cardiac blood vessel, killing him instantly.According to the evidence before him, Kandara died at his own hand, Magistrate Truter concluded.