Strict security as De Jay appears

RETIRED teacher Dawid de Jay (58) appeared in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court on a murder charge on Friday.

De Jay is accused of stabbing his in wife, Tina de Jay, in her stomach and back at the Fish River bridge between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz on February 12.He told the Police that his wife was attacked by two men who stole her handbag and then fled.De Jay on Friday told the court he would only enter a plea after enlisting the service of a lawyer.The case was postponed to March 26 for further Police investigation and to allow De Jay to obtain legal representation. He remains in custody. Police officers were deployed at the court in fear that people might attack De Jay. People who packed the courtroom were searched for weapons before entering. Hundreds of Keetmanshoop residents calling for the return of the death penalty staged a protest march on Friday to condemn the murder, which has sent shock waves through the local community. Magistrate Alweendo Venasius appealed to the protesters not to take the law into their own hands.luqman@namibian.com.na