WINDHOEK – The State on Wednesday withdrew its case against three young interns accused of attacking a Sierra Leonean colleague on the Windhoek Central Hospital premises in February.
Medical doctors Gert Engelbert, Pieter Human and Werner Wagner, left the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court as free men after the prosecuting authorities told them that the complainant, Dr John Kamara, had indicated in a written statement that he no longer wanted to proceed with the case against them. The three men were charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and robbery.It was alleged that they had forced the Sierra Leonean-born Kamara off the road during the early morning hours of February 19, assaulted him, and had allegedly taken his cellphone off him.The trio had been free on N$1 000 bail each.Their bail money was returned to them shortly after the case was withdrawn.The incident occurred when Kamara was travelling to the Katutura State Hospital to administer anaesthesia to a woman undergoing a Caesarean section.According to the interns, shortly before the incident at least three men were seen breaking into a colleague’s flat at the apartment building where medical staff employed at the State hospitals are housed.The thieves allegedly made off with a computer, clothes and other valuable items.The doctors, who had been employed at the hospital as interns only a month earlier, said they had gone to alert security guards at the main gate to the hospital premises and that was apparently when they spotted Kamara’s car.Suspecting that there might be a link to the break-in, they decided to pursue the vehicle and try to catch the person or persons they believed to be responsible for the burglary.Before the February 19 incident, intern doctors had been the victims of a spate of burglaries at their living quarters on the hospital premises and had complained that their personal security at the country’s two main State facilities was also affected.- NampaThe three men were charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and robbery.It was alleged that they had forced the Sierra Leonean-born Kamara off the road during the early morning hours of February 19, assaulted him, and had allegedly taken his cellphone off him.The trio had been free on N$1 000 bail each.Their bail money was returned to them shortly after the case was withdrawn.The incident occurred when Kamara was travelling to the Katutura State Hospital to administer anaesthesia to a woman undergoing a Caesarean section.According to the interns, shortly before the incident at least three men were seen breaking into a colleague’s flat at the apartment building where medical staff employed at the State hospitals are housed.The thieves allegedly made off with a computer, clothes and other valuable items.The doctors, who had been employed at the hospital as interns only a month earlier, said they had gone to alert security guards at the main gate to the hospital premises and that was apparently when they spotted Kamara’s car.Suspecting that there might be a link to the break-in, they decided to pursue the vehicle and try to catch the person or persons they believed to be responsible for the burglary.Before the February 19 incident, intern doctors had been the victims of a spate of burglaries at their living quarters on the hospital premises and had complained that their personal security at the country’s two main State facilities was also affected.- Nampa
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