Love Street murder case in court

THE case against two young men who are accused of robbing and murdering the caretaker of a property close to Namibia’s Parliament in late June last year was again postponed when they made their fifth appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The 24-year-old Elia Katuu and a co-accused, Roger Mberira (26), were arrested and charged with counts of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances in early July last year. Their arrests followed about a week after the late Setson Namashana, who was employed as a caretaker at a house in Windhoek’s Love Street, next to Namibia’s Parliament buildings, was found dead and tied to a chair in his employer’s house.The employer, Wolfgang Rapp, discovered Namashana’s body when he returned home after an overseas trip.With sticky tape having been put over Namashana’s mouth and nose, it is suspected that he suffocated, and that he was dead inside the house for days before he was discovered.Detective Inspector Michael Unandapo of the Namibian Police’s Serious Crime Unit told The Namibian at the time that Rapp’s safe in the house had been broken into, and that some N$9 000 was stolen from it.A number of other items, including a laptop computer, a cellphone and a digital camera, had been stolen from the premises, Unandapo was reported to have said.Rapp has in the meantime also died.He was killed when an aeroplane piloted by him crashed in the Kunene Region on December 6 last year.Murder suspects Katuu and Mberira were granted bail of N$3 000 each on July 13 last year, close to a week after their arrests.Two of the conditions on which they were given bail was that they were not allowed to obtain travel documents, and that they were not permitted to leave the Windhoek district without permission from the Police officer investigating their case.When they had to appear in court again on September 27, however, the court was told that Mberira was absent from court because he had to travel to the United Kingdom for work.Mberira was back at court the next day to witness the court cancelling his bail and forfeiting the bail money to the State because he had broken his bail conditions.He has remained in custody since then.The case returned to court yesterday after it had been postponed in early December for further investigation.The Police’s docket on the matter was not at court yesterday, however, prompting a further postponement.Katuu and Mberira now have to appear in court again on April 10.Katuu remains free on bail.Mberira remains in custody.Their arrests followed about a week after the late Setson Namashana, who was employed as a caretaker at a house in Windhoek’s Love Street, next to Namibia’s Parliament buildings, was found dead and tied to a chair in his employer’s house.The employer, Wolfgang Rapp, discovered Namashana’s body when he returned home after an overseas trip.With sticky tape having been put over Namashana’s mouth and nose, it is suspected that he suffocated, and that he was dead inside the house for days before he was discovered.Detective Inspector Michael Unandapo of the Namibian Police’s Serious Crime Unit told The Namibian at the time that Rapp’s safe in the house had been broken into, and that some N$9 000 was stolen from it.A number of other items, including a laptop computer, a cellphone and a digital camera, had been stolen from the premises, Unandapo was reported to have said.Rapp has in the meantime also died.He was killed when an aeroplane piloted by him crashed in the Kunene Region on December 6 last year.Murder suspects Katuu and Mberira were granted bail of N$3 000 each on July 13 last year, close to a week after their arrests.Two of the conditions on which they were given bail was that they were not allowed to obtain travel documents, and that they were not permitted to leave the Windhoek district without permission from the Police officer investigating their case.When they had to appear in court again on September 27, however, the court was told that Mberira was absent from court because he had to travel to the United Kingdom for work.Mberira was back at court the next day to witness the court cancelling his bail and forfeiting the bail money to the State because he had broken his bail conditions.He has remained in custody since then.The case returned to court yesterday after it had been postponed in early December for further investigation.The Police’s docket on the matter was not at court yesterday, however, prompting a further postponement.Katuu and Mberira now have to appear in court again on April 10.Katuu remains free on bail.Mberira remains in custody.