Omitara murder case postponed

OMITARA farmer Hartmuth Held and one of his employees, Rudolf Nekare, who are both accused of murdering and then secretly burying an elderly man, reappeared in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The case was postponed until June 28 for further investigation. According to the Chief Legal Clerk at Gobabis, the two men were not asked to plead and their bail was extended.Held, who owns the Omitara West and De Hoop farms in the Omitara area, is free on bail of N$10 000, while his co-accused’s bail is N$1 000.The pair were arrested in November last year and charged with the murder of a resident of Omitara Camp informal settlement, Petrus Smit.Smit disappeared around February 2000, allegedly in the area of Held’s two farms, which are next to the Omitara Camp.It is alleged that Held (47) shot and killed Smit and that Nekare (35) helped him bury the body.Police officers dug up human remains, purported to be those of the late Smit, on one of Held’s property after three witnesses directed them to the spot.But the farmer denied any involvement in the killing and secret burial and claimed that the exhumed bones came from a farm graveyard dating back decades.The case sparked public outrage in November when the accused duo first appeared before Gobabis Magistrate Wouter Maske.A large crowd of people converged on the court to demand that the pair be denied bail.According to the Chief Legal Clerk at Gobabis, the two men were not asked to plead and their bail was extended. Held, who owns the Omitara West and De Hoop farms in the Omitara area, is free on bail of N$10 000, while his co-accused’s bail is N$1 000. The pair were arrested in November last year and charged with the murder of a resident of Omitara Camp informal settlement, Petrus Smit. Smit disappeared around February 2000, allegedly in the area of Held’s two farms, which are next to the Omitara Camp. It is alleged that Held (47) shot and killed Smit and that Nekare (35) helped him bury the body. Police officers dug up human remains, purported to be those of the late Smit, on one of Held’s property after three witnesses directed them to the spot. But the farmer denied any involvement in the killing and secret burial and claimed that the exhumed bones came from a farm graveyard dating back decades. The case sparked public outrage in November when the accused duo first appeared before Gobabis Magistrate Wouter Maske. A large crowd of people converged on the court to demand that the pair be denied bail.