Sentence awaits Tsumeb doctor’s killer

“A CALLOUS execution.” Also, “a carefully planned and premeditated murder, carried out by a man who, like a predator, lay in wait for his prey.

For this crime, former farmworker Josef Naseb must be severely punished, with a jail term of 40 years suggested on the murder charge that he has admitted.” These statements were part of the arguments that Deputy Prosecutor-General Heidi Jacobs made before Acting Judge Hosea Angula in the High Court in Windhoek on Wednesday, as the trial in which Naseb is accused of murdering Tsumeb medical doctor Andries van Coller and committing more than half a dozen other crimes sped to a swift conclusion.Where Jacobs argued that Naseb had committed a planned and cold-blooded murder, Naseb’s defence counsel, Unanisa Hengari, however told the court that Naseb had committed his crimes out of need rather than greed, and that a heavy sentence would not serve the purpose of acting as a deterrent to the particular San community from which this illiterate man hails.Acting Judge Angula is set to sentence the 51-year-old Naseb on Monday.Naseb’s trial started on Tuesday this week with Naseb pleading guilty to eight charges.The first of these is a count of murder, in which he was accused of shooting dead Tsumeb medical doctor Andries van Coller (66) at Van Coller’s farm, Verweg, some 65 kilometres northwest of Tsumeb on February 2 2005.Naseb further pleaded guilty to two counts of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, four further charges of theft, and a count of negligent discharge of a firearm.Except for admitting that he killed Van Coller by shooting him from the back while Van Coller was unarmed, that he shot Van Coller three times while he was not provoked or acting in self defence, and that he stole a wallet containing N$400 from a back pocket of Van Coller’s clothes after the doctor had been killed, Naseb gave no clear indications of the motives that had driven him to commit the murder.Two Police officers who were involved in the investigation of the case however told Acting Judge Angula on Wednesday that Naseb had explained to them that he had shot Van Coller because he was unhappy with the treatment that he said he received from Van Coller in the few days that he had been employed at farm Verweg before the killing.According to Detective Sergeant Alex Somseb, who investigated the case, Naseb told him that he had shot Van Coller because the doctor had insulted him and had been too harsh with him over the two days that he had been working at the farm.Detective Inspector Abner Agas told Acting Judge Angula that Naseb had told him on February 4 2005, while Naseb was pointing out the crime scene at the farm to Agas, that he had shot Van Coller because the doctor had been rude to him and had insulted him.Naseb also said that he had shot a fellow farmworker, Phillipus Shitelana, in the abdomen on the same day as the killing because Shitelana used to laugh when Van Coller was insulting Naseb, Agas testified.Naseb pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of negligent discharge of a firearm in connection with the shooting of Shitelana.Agas further testified that Naseb told him that after he had broken into buildings at the main farmhouse at Verweg, in the process stealing a host of items that included four rifles, he made his way to a fence where fellow labourers were working.That was where Shitelana was shot.Naseb then returned to the farmhouse, where he at one stage was hiding in the house when a team of Police officers who were reacting to a report on the shooting of Shitelana arrived at the farm.The team, which included Sergeant Somseb, again left the farm without entering the house where Naseb said he was waiting, ready to shoot any Policeman who was to go into the house, Agas said Naseb told him.Agas added that Naseb related that he shot Van Coller in the evening.Somseb testified that when he arrived at Verweg at about 15h00 on February 2 2005, he found no one at the main farmhouse.He then drove on to a neighbouring farm, where he found some of the other workers who were employed by Van Coller.After that, he again drove back to the farmyard at Verweg, where he found the injured Shitelana sitting next to a fence.A photo handed in as evidence in the trial shows Shitelana sitting with a large part of his intestines hanging out of his abdomen.He has since recovered from his injury.Somseb said he assisted Shitelana and had him taken to a clinic for treatment.When he returned to Verweg the next day to continue with the investigation of the shooting of Shitelana, he discovered Van Coller, who had returned to the farm in the time after Somseb had last been there, lying dead in a doorway to his house.Van Coller had been shot seven times, Dr Yuri Vasin, the medical doctor who performed an autopsy on his body, told the court.One of the shots shattered his left knee.Another, in his back, went through his left lung, heart and aorta.One shot passed through his abdomen.Yet another shot was through Van Coller’s head, Vasin said.The entrance wound of that gunshot injury was on the left side of Van Coller’s forehead, he said.Naseb had broken into Van Coller’s house and stolen everything he wanted while Van Coller was not present at the farm, before he then stayed on at the scene, waiting until Van Coller returned, Jacobs said when she addressed Acting Judge Angula on the sentence that is to be imposed on Naseb.”It is my submission that this was a carefully planned and premeditated murder,” she argued.”He waited for the deceased.Like a predator he was lying in wait for his prey.”The nature of the wounds that Dr Vasin recorded showed that some of the shots that struck Van Coller had been fired from the back, she said.”Another was also fired into his forehead.That is execution-style,” she stated.”This crime of murder amounts to little more than a callous execution,” Jacobs argued.”It was a brazen and violent murder and must be severely punished.”She suggested a 40-year jail term on the murder charge alone, and various prison terms ranging between one year and eight years in length on the other counts.Defence lawyer Hengari told the court that Naseb had grown up in very difficult circumstances, dominated by abject poverty, in the Mangetti area.He never went to school and has no earthly possessions.The fact that some basic necessities such as food were among the things Naseb stole from Van Coller, showed that he had been motivated by need, and not greed, Hengari argued.Naseb has remained in Police custody since his arrest at Tsumeb two days after the murder.These statements were part of the arguments that Deputy Prosecutor-General Heidi Jacobs made before Acting Judge Hosea Angula in the High Court in Windhoek on Wednesday, as the trial in which Naseb is accused of murdering Tsumeb medical doctor Andries van Coller and committing more than half a dozen other crimes sped to a swift conclusion.Where Jacobs argued that Naseb had committed a planned and cold-blooded murder, Naseb’s defence counsel, Unanisa Hengari, however told the court that Naseb had committed his crimes out of need rather than greed, and that a heavy sentence would not serve the purpose of acting as a deterrent to the particular San community from which this illiterate man hails.Acting Judge Angula is set to sentence the 51-year-old Naseb on Monday.Naseb’s trial started on Tuesday this week with Naseb pleading guilty to eight charges.The first of these is a count of murder, in which he was accused of shooting dead Tsumeb medical doctor Andries van Coller (66) at Van Coller’s farm, Verweg, some 65 kilometres northwest of Tsumeb on February 2 2005.Naseb further pleaded guilty to two counts of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, four further charges of theft, and a count of negligent discharge of a firearm.Except for admitting that he killed Van Coller by shooting him from the back while Van Coller was unarmed, that he shot Van Coller three times while he was not provoked or acting in self defence, and that he stole a wallet containing N$400 from a back pocket of Van Coller’s clothes after the doctor had been killed, Naseb gave no clear indications of the motives that had driven him to commit the murder.Two Police officers who were involved in the investigation of the case however told Acting Judge Angula on Wednesday that Naseb had explained to them that he had shot Van Coller because he was unhappy with the treatment that he said he received from Van Coller in the few days that he had been employed at farm Verweg before the killing.According to Detective Sergeant Alex Somseb, who investigated the case, Naseb told him that he had shot Van Coller because the doctor had insulted him and had been too harsh with him over the two days that he had been working at the farm.Detective Inspector Abner Agas told Acting Judge Angula that Naseb had told him on February 4 2005, while Naseb was pointing out the crime scene at the farm to Agas, that he had shot Van Coller because the doctor had been rude to him and had insulted him.Naseb also said that he had shot a fellow farmworker, Phillipus Shitelana, in the abdomen on the same day as the killing because Shitelana used to laugh when Van Coller was insulting Naseb, Agas testified.Naseb pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of negligent discharge of a firearm in connection with the shooting of Shitelana.Agas further testified that Naseb told him that after he had broken into buildings at the main farmhouse at Verweg, in the process stealing a host of items that included four rifles, he made his way to a fence where fellow labourers were working.That was where Shitelana was shot.Naseb then returned to the farmhouse, where he at one stage was hiding in the house when a team of Police officers who were reacting to a report on the shooting of Shitelana arrived at the farm.The team, which included Sergeant Somseb, again left the farm without entering the house where Naseb said he was waiting, ready to shoot any Policeman who was to go into the house, Agas said Naseb told him.Agas added that Naseb related that he shot Van Coller in the evening.Somseb testified that when he arrived at Verweg at about 15h00 on February 2 2005, he found no one at the main farmhouse.He then drove on to a neighbouring farm, where he found some of the other workers who were employed by Van Coller.After that, he again drove back to the farmyard at Verweg, where he found the injured Shitelana sitting next to a fence.A photo handed in as evidence in the trial shows Shitelana sitting with a large part of his intestines hanging out of his abdomen.He has since recovered from his injury.Somseb said he assisted Shitelana and had him taken to a clinic for treatment.When he returned to Verweg the next day to continue with the investigation of the shooting of Shitelana, he discovered Van Coller, who had returned to the farm in the time after Somseb had last been there, lying dead in a doorway to his house.Van Coller had been shot seven times, Dr Yuri Vasin, the medical doctor who performed an autopsy on his body, told the court.One of the shots shattered his left knee.Another, in his back, went through his left lung, heart and aorta.One shot passed through his abdomen.Yet another shot was through Van Coller’s head, Vasin said.The entrance wound of that gunshot injury was on the left side of Van Coller’s forehead, he said.Naseb had broken into Van Coller’s house and stolen everything he wanted while Van Coller was not present at the farm, before he then stayed on at the scene, waiting until Van Coller returned, Jacobs said when she addressed Acting Judge Angula on the sentence that is to be imposed on Naseb.”It is my submission that this was a carefully planned and premeditated murder,” she argued.”He waited for the deceased.Like a predator he was lying in wait for his prey.”The nature of the wounds that Dr Vasin recorded showed that some of the shots that struck Van Coller had been fired from the back, she said.”Another was also fired into his forehead.That is execution-style,” she stated.”This crime of murder amounts to little more than a callous execution,” Jacobs argued.”It was a brazen and violent murder and must be severely punished.”She suggested a 40-year jail term on the murder charge alone, and various prison terms ranging between one year and eight years in length on the other counts.Defence lawyer Hengari told the court that Naseb had grown up in very difficult circumstances, dominated by abject poverty, in the Mangetti area.He never went to school and has no earthly possessions.The fact that some basic necessities such as food were among the things Naseb stole from Van Coller, showed that he had been motivated by need, and not greed, Hengari argued.Naseb has remained in Police custody since his arrest at Tsumeb two days after the murder.