Police looking for Outjo farm murder witness

THE police are struggling to trace a crucial prosecution witness in the trial of a farmworker who is charged with having robbed and murdered his employer at an Outjo area farm two years ago.

This was conveyed to acting judge Orben Sibeya in the Windhoek High Court on Friday, before the trial of the farmworker Johannes Katanga was postponed to Tuesday next week.

The trial was postponed after state advocate Tangeni Iitula told the judge that the prosecution had only two more witnesses whose testimony it planned to present to the court, and that the police have not been able to trace one further witness, whom Iitula described as crucial to the state’s case.

Iitula was referring to the witness Anselm Mukuve, who was employed by the late farmer Karl-Heinz Kossmann at the time of his death, following an attack on him at his farm, Aasvoëlkrans, in the Outjo district on 25 September 2017.

The state is alleging that Kossmann appointed Katanga as an employee at his farm on 13 September 2017. Less than two weeks later, on 25 September 2017, Katanga allegedly attacked Kossmann (70) by assaulting him, shooting him in his right leg, and tying his hands behind his back.

The state is further alleging that Katanga robbed Kossmann by stealing cash in an amount of N$1 832, a cellphone, a revolver, a pistol and 11 bullets from him.

However, an attempt to also steal a range of other items – including electronic appliances, two laptop computers and ammunition – failed when Katanga allegedly fled from the farm when he was disturbed by the arrival of other people at the scene of the attack after he had loaded the goods onto a vehicle of Kossmann.

A resident of a farm adjacent to Aasvoëlkrans has testified that Mukuve arrived at the neighbouring farm and raised the alarm about events at Koss­mann’s farm by informing her that someone was shooting at Kossmann.

The witness told the court she drove to Kossmann’s farm, where she found him lying tied up in a pool of blood on the floor of his house. Although he was seriously injured, he still told her that he had been attacked from behind, the witness said.

Kossmann died on his arrival at a hospital at Outjo.

Medical doctor Mamadi Guriras testified on Friday that an autopsy on Kossmann’s body indicated that he had been extensively injured. Except for a gunshot injury to his upper right leg and a fractured femur, 17 of his ribs were broken and his breastbone was also fractured, Dr Guriras said.

In addition to those injuries, Koss­mann had multiple lacerations, bruises and abrasions over his body, and had suffered blunt force trauma to his head, which resulted in bleeding on his brain, she said.

Katanga denied guilt on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted robbery with aggravating circumstances when his trial began on 5 August.

He has been kept in custody since his arrest at a police roadblock between Outjo and Khorixas during the afternoon of 25 September 2017.

Legal aid defence lawyer Kenneth Siambango is representing Katanga.

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