New date set for arson-murder verdict

FORMER teacher Efraim Rachimo Haradoëb was seen at Keetmanshoop and Karasburg on the day that he allegedly murdered his teacher girlfriend at Gibeon by setting her on fire more than seven years ago, two witnesses claimed in the High Court.

Haradoëb (35) was set to hear Judge Mavis Gibson’s verdict in his long-interrupted trial on charges of murder and arson last Friday. Instead he received another chance to call witnesses in an attempt to back up his claims of having an alibi to prove that he was not at the scene in the hostel of the C.!Oaseb Secondary School at Gibeon where an attacker poured petrol over his girlfriend, Regina Kastoor (23), and set her on fire on November 16 1998.That attacker, it has been charged throughout his trial, was Haradoëb – but he has consistently denied that he had been responsible for the fatal attack, even in the face of testimony from an eyewitness who insisted that she knew him and saw him carry out the deadly torching.Initially – before he escaped from Police custody at the beginning of February 2000 and managed to evade being rearrested for almost five and a half years – he told the Judge that a truck driver who was giving him a ride to South Africa on the evening that the attack took place would provide him with an alibi.That witness was not mentioned, and another two claimed alibi witnesses, whose names have not featured during the trial as possible alibi witnesses, were instead called to the witness stand to testify in Haradoëb’s defence.Prison inmate Victor Awaseb, who told the court he is serving a jail sentence for fraud, forgery and assault, was the first of these witnesses.He told the court that he could remember that he had seen Haradoëb at a fuel station at Karasburg on November 16 1998 – at between 16h30 and 16h40, to be exact.The next time that he saw Haradoëb was during July 2000, when he saw him at the Windhoek Police Station, Awaseb added.The problem with that bit of his testimony is that by July 2000 Haradoëb had been on the run for some five months already, State advocate Rolanda Gertze pointed out to Awaseb.Except for mentioning to some friends two days after he had seen Haradoëb at Karasburg that he had met him there, he kept quiet about the encounter for the next seven years, until he received a summons last week to go to court to testify in the trial, Awaseb also told the court.Only after he had received the summons did he actually get to speak to Haradoëb again about the issue, and did Haradoëb ask him whether he could recall their encounter at Karasburg, Awaseb claimed further.The attack on Kastoor is claimed to have taken place at about 20h00 on November 16 1998.According to the second witness who testified on Friday, Albert Owoseb Mandu, he had met Haradoëb at a truck stop outside Keetmanshoop at between 10h00 and 12h00 on that day more than seven years ago.He said he could recall that it was on a Monday after he had written his last school exam the Friday before.He mentioned this encounter to Haradoëb’s uncle at Okahandja shortly afterwards, and Haradoëb’s brother contacted him at some time in the middle of last year to ask him whether he would be prepared to tell this story in court, Owoseb told the court.Yet he has not actually discussed it with Haradoëb himself, even though they have been locked up together in the same cell over the past couple of months, Owoseb also claimed.At the age of 23, Owoseb is in custody on two charges of murder, he told the Judge.It was clear that the evidence of neither of the two witnesses could be believed, Gertze argued after they had testified.She said their testimony was an afterthought that should be rejected, and asked Judge Gibson to convict Haradoëb.Haradoëb’s defence counsel, Sarel Maritz, told the Judge that he agreed that the two new witnesses’ evidence had to be treated with caution.From what they told the court, though, it was clear that Haradoëb was moving in the general direction of the South African border on November 16 1998, he said.Judge Gibson is scheduled to hand down her judgement on Wednesday next week.Instead he received another chance to call witnesses in an attempt to back up his claims of having an alibi to prove that he was not at the scene in the hostel of the C.!Oaseb Secondary School at Gibeon where an attacker poured petrol over his girlfriend, Regina Kastoor (23), and set her on fire on November 16 1998.That attacker, it has been charged throughout his trial, was Haradoëb – but he has consistently denied that he had been responsible for the fatal attack, even in the face of testimony from an eyewitness who insisted that she knew him and saw him carry out the deadly torching.Initially – before he escaped from Police custody at the beginning of February 2000 and managed to evade being rearrested for almost five and a half years – he told the Judge that a truck driver who was giving him a ride to South Africa on the evening that the attack took place would provide him with an alibi.That witness was not mentioned, and another two claimed alibi witnesses, whose names have not featured during the trial as possible alibi witnesses, were instead called to the witness stand to testify in Haradoëb’s defence.Prison inmate Victor Awaseb, who told the court he is serving a jail sentence for fraud, forgery and assault, was the first of these witnesses.He told the court that he could remember that he had seen Haradoëb at a fuel station at Karasburg on November 16 1998 – at between 16h30 and 16h40, to be exact.The next time that he saw Haradoëb was during July 2000, when he saw him at the Windhoek Police Station, Awaseb added.The problem with that bit of his testimony is that by July 2000 Haradoëb had been on the run for some five months already, State advocate Rolanda Gertze pointed out to Awaseb.Except for mentioning to some friends two days after he had seen Haradoëb at Karasburg that he had met him there, he kept quiet about the encounter for the next seven years, until he received a summons last week to go to court to testify in the trial, Awaseb also told the court.Only after he had received the summons did he actually get to speak to Haradoëb again about the issue, and did Haradoëb ask him whether he could recall their encounter at Karasburg, Awaseb claimed further.The attack on Kastoor is claimed to have taken place at about 20h00 on November 16 1998.According to the second witness who testified on Friday, Albert Owoseb Mandu, he had met Haradoëb at a truck stop outside Keetmanshoop at between 10h00 and 12h00 on that day more than seven years ago.He said he could recall that it was on a Monday after he had written his last school exam the Friday before.He mentioned this encounter to Haradoëb’s uncle at Okahandja shortly afterwards, and Haradoëb’s brother contacted him at some time in the middle of last year to ask him whether he would be prepared to tell this story in court, Owoseb told the court.Yet he has not actually discussed it with Haradoëb himself, even though they have been locked up together in the same cell over the past couple of months, Owoseb also claimed.At the age of 23, Owoseb is in custody on two charges of murder, he told the Judge.It was clear that the evidence of neither of the two witnesses could be believed, Gertze argued after they had testified.She said their testimony was an afterthought that should be rejected, and asked Judge Gibson to convict Haradoëb.Haradoëb’s defence counsel, Sarel Maritz, told the Judge that he agreed that the two new witnesses’ evidence had to be treated with caution.From what they told the court, though, it was clear that Haradoëb was moving in the general direction of the South African border on November 16 1998, he said.Judge Gibson is scheduled to hand down her judgement on Wednesday next week.