Keetmanshoop cell death trial postponed

THE High Court trial of four Police officers being prosecuted over the death of a Keetmanshoop resident who had been locked up in a Police cell in April 2007 was again postponed on Friday, until the end of February next year.

The trial of Charles Vries, who was a detainee at the Keetmanshoop Police Station during the night of March 31 to April 1 2007, and Police officers Gert Hendrik Titsol, Lodwika Galand, Hendrina Nghivelwa and James Nderura is scheduled to continue before Judge Nate Ndauendapo from February 27 to March 8 next year.The trial proceeded last week after a nine-month postponement, but the single week allocated for the hearing again proved to be insufficient to get the case finalised.Vries is charged with murder, while the four Police officers face a count of culpable homicide, in connection with the death of Keetmanshoop resident Noël Calvin Thompson (40) on April 1 2007.Thompson died as a result of a ruptured liver shortly after he had been released from a holding cell at the Keetmanshoop Police Station, where he had been locked up at the request of his wife the night before.The prosecution is charging that Thompson sustained the fatal injury when he was assaulted by Vries while he, Vries and two mentally disturbed people were locked up in the same cell.The Police officers are charged for having allegedly failed to carry out their duties to conduct regular cell inspections during the night in question, for having locked Thompson up with mentally disturbed detainees in contravention of Police standing orders, and for allegedly not searching Thompson properly before he was locked up.In testimony given in his own defence last week Vries denied that he had assaulted Thompson in the cell. Vries claimed Thompson had a knife with him in the cell, and he defended himself against Thompson with a blanket when Thompson wanted to attack him, he claimed.In a previous statement which he had made to a senior Police officer, Vries claimed he had kicked Thompson because Thomson wanted to attack him with a knife. Vries denied the contents of this statement last week.Titsol told the court that he searched Thompson before locking him up, and did not find any knife on him.The court has also heard that 107 people were being detained at the Keetmanshoop Police Station on the night in question.There were only three Police officers on duty that night, and they had to deal with month-end mayhem, which included 17 knife stabbings, during their shift, the court heard.Titsol indicated to the court that as a result of these circumstances the Police officers did not have the time to conduct regular cell inspections as required during the night.Nderura was not on duty during the night in question, but is being prosecuted because he was the Station Commander at the time and allegedly did not ensure that the Police Station was properly staffed that night.The Police officers and Vries remain free on bail until their next trial.