Long wait for farm massacre suspects

THE three men charged in Namibia’s largest murder case since Independence face a further three-month wait before they may hear what the Prosecutor-General has decided on the further conduct of the prosecution against them.

Farm massacre suspects Sylvester Beukes (20), his brother, Gavin Beukes (24), and Justus Christiaan (‘Shorty’) Erasmus (28) heard this when they made their latest appearance in the Kalkrand Magistrate’s Court on Friday. During the trio’s appearance, Public Prosecutor Anita Meyer asked Magistrate Alweendo Venatius to postpone the case against the three men until February 13 for the Prosecutor General’s decision.The PG’s decision had initially been scheduled to be available by Friday last week, but has been delayed because part of the investigation – mainly DNA tests – is not yet completed.The Beukes brothers and Erasmus are at this stage facing eight charges of murder, as well as other charges that include counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, stock theft and theft of a motor vehicle, in connection with the killing of eight people at the farm Kareeboomkolk, situated between Rehoboth and Kalkrand, on March 5.The owners of the farm, Justus and Elzabé Erasmus, were among the eight people who were shot dead at the farm.’Shorty’ Erasmus is their son.He was arrested and charged ten days after the massacre, after Sylvester Beukes claimed in a sworn statement to the Police that Erasmus Jnr had asked him to kill his parents.Beukes was promised part of the proceeds of life-insurance policies that were supposed to pay out after the Erasmuses’ deaths, he claimed.Before he revealed those claims, Sylvester Beukes also admitted during his and his brother’s first appearance in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court on March 9 that he had shot dead the farm owners and six people who were living at the farm.At that stage, he made no mention of Erasmus Junior’s claimed role in the slayings.He told the court that he wanted to kill Justus Erasmus out of revenge for bad treatment that he felt he had received from the part-time farmer when he was employed by Erasmus in the past.He killed the other people at the farm – Mrs Erasmus, farmworkers Settie and Sonnyboy Swartbooi, who were brothers, the latter’s pregnant wife, Hilma Engelbrecht, her children, Christina Engelbrecht and Regina Gertze, and a nephew of Hilma Engelbrecht, Deon Gertze – and set fire to the remains of some of them because he did not want to leave any witnesses behind, Beukes claimed.He further claimed that his brother did not take part in the killings, but was only a passive witness to the events.Erasmus Jnr pleaded not guilty to all the charges on September 8.He is the only one of the three suspects to have been granted bail.During the trio’s appearance, Public Prosecutor Anita Meyer asked Magistrate Alweendo Venatius to postpone the case against the three men until February 13 for the Prosecutor General’s decision.The PG’s decision had initially been scheduled to be available by Friday last week, but has been delayed because part of the investigation – mainly DNA tests – is not yet completed.The Beukes brothers and Erasmus are at this stage facing eight charges of murder, as well as other charges that include counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, stock theft and theft of a motor vehicle, in connection with the killing of eight people at the farm Kareeboomkolk, situated between Rehoboth and Kalkrand, on March 5.The owners of the farm, Justus and Elzabé Erasmus, were among the eight people who were shot dead at the farm.’Shorty’ Erasmus is their son.He was arrested and charged ten days after the massacre, after Sylvester Beukes claimed in a sworn statement to the Police that Erasmus Jnr had asked him to kill his parents.Beukes was promised part of the proceeds of life-insurance policies that were supposed to pay out after the Erasmuses’ deaths, he claimed.Before he revealed those claims, Sylvester Beukes also admitted during his and his brother’s first appearance in the Mariental Magistrate’s Court on March 9 that he had shot dead the farm owners and six people who were living at the farm.At that stage, he made no mention of Erasmus Junior’s claimed role in the slayings.He told the court that he wanted to kill Justus Erasmus out of revenge for bad treatment that he felt he had received from the part-time farmer when he was employed by Erasmus in the past.He killed the other people at the farm – Mrs Erasmus, farmworkers Settie and Sonnyboy Swartbooi, who were brothers, the latter’s pregnant wife, Hilma Engelbrecht, her children, Christina Engelbrecht and Regina Gertze, and a nephew of Hilma Engelbrecht, Deon Gertze – and set fire to the remains of some of them because he did not want to leave any witnesses behind, Beukes claimed.He further claimed that his brother did not take part in the killings, but was only a passive witness to the events.Erasmus Jnr pleaded not guilty to all the charges on September 8.He is the only one of the three suspects to have been granted bail.