Omaruru 3 denied bail

THREE suspects yesterday appeared in the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court charged with the murder of Omaruru farming couple Jannie (80) and Toets (75) Kruger on March 12.

Ebson Tumbireeko (28), Raphael Kahinatjo (45) and Gabriel Elazeua (32) face charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The trio said they would only plead in the presence of a legal representative. The case was postponed to July 20 for further investigation and for them to get legal aid.The three were arrested over the weekend and allegedly confessed their involvement in the crime before an Omaruru Magistrate on Saturday, Erongo Police Chief Festus Shilongo told The Namibian earlier.A rifle belonging to the Kruger couple and the alleged murder weapon were found in two of the suspects’ possession, Shilongo said.Yesterday’s court proceedings started six hours later than scheduled, causing the crowd of about 150 people gathered at the court to become impatient. While most of the crowd were curious to see who the killers were, there were those – like the Kruger family – who wanted to see justice done.Before the accused were escorted into the courtroom, Chief Inspector Charles Sibolile, Chief Crime Co-ordinator of the Erongo Region, warned everyone to stay calm and hand in any weapons in their possession.A strong contingency of armed Police officers kept the crowd at bay as the three suspects made their way to the courtroom. The court was packed to capacity, and many people had to stand outside.State Prosecutor Ileni Velikoshi told Magistrate Kholwani Mojo Mangena that the State was ready to prosecute. She however said that the Magistrate’s Court did not have the jurisdiction to handle the case, and the Prosecutor General would decide whether it would be heard in the Regional Court or the High Court.The suspects were denied bail because of the seriousness of the crimes, but were told that they could make a formal bail application. The son of the deceased, Louis Kruger, told The Namibian that one of the suspects, Elazeua, had worked for him about seven years ago.