Suspects deny murder of German flight instructor

THE two men accused of robbing and murdering German flight instructor Ralph Köhnke in Windhoek in the last days of 2005, and then burning Köhnke’s remains in an attempt to hide the crime, pleaded not guilty to all charges when their trial started in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.

After close to three years and nine months in custody, the trial of Dumingu Zuzee Da Costa (39) and Joseph Wasuka Nunda (33) finally began when they gave their pleas before Judge Nate Ndauendapo.Da Costa and Nunda both denied all three charges against them. These are counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating or obstructing the course of justice or attempting to do so, together with an alternative charge of violating a dead human body.Da Costa and Nunda are accused of murdering Köhnke (34), a German national who was employed at the Namibian Aviation Training Academy in Windhoek, at his home in the city on December 26 2005. The prosecution is charging that Köhnke was murdered when he was hit several times on the head and body with a brick and possibly also other objects.After Köhnke had been killed, Da Costa and Nunda allegedly loaded his body into a car belonging to Köhnke and drove to an area behind Goreangab Dam where they tried to burn the body in the veld.From there, it is charged, they returned to Köhnke’s house on Sam Nujoma Drive and proceeded to steal a range of items from the house.The stolen goods include a safe, two firearms, an unknown amount of cash money, computer equipment, a lawnmower, a chainsaw and also the Toyota Condor vehicle with which Köhnke’s body had been transported to the place where it was set on fire.The vehicle was later found in the Havana area in Katutura.Köhnke’s remains – burned beyond recognition – were discovered on December 29 2005.In a plea explanation that Da Costa’s lawyer, Slysken Makando, gave to the court yesterday, Da Costa denied having done anything to kill Köhnke or having used any force against Köhnke in the course of a robbery. He also denied having been a partner in crime with Nunda or anyone else.On the third charge against the two men, which deals with the burning of Köhnke’s remains, Da Costa stated that he was specifically denying the deed connected to that alleged crime, having had an intention to commit such a crime, and the unlawfulness of it. Without giving any further explanation, Makando added that Da Costa would also raise ‘necessity as a ground of justification’ on this charge.In his plea explanation Da Costa is also stating that he knew Köhnke, as they were both employed at Nata, and that he occasionally visited Köhnke at his house. Nunda’s lawyer, Winnie Christians, told the Judge that Nunda is denying having committed all three alleged crimes, and that his defence to the charges would become clear as the trial proceeds.With the consent of the two defence lawyers State advocate Belinda Wantenaar handed in a collection of documents as exhibits in the trial after the pleas had been given.These documents include a report on an autopsy that was done on Köhnke’s burnt remains. The doctor who performed the post-mortem examination concluded that the cause of Köhnke’s death was a head injury, which included a skull fracture.Wantenaar also told Judge Ndauendapo that the prosecution has confessions that were given by both Da Costa and Nunda, as well as the record of a pointing out of scenes by both of them that it intends to use as evidence in the trial.Both defence lawyers told the Judge that they would be objecting to this evidence being used. Their clients’ constitutional rights were violated when the alleged confessions and pointing out were done, and the statements that they made were also not made freely and voluntarily, the two lawyers said.This means that the court would have to conduct a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of this evidence before the prosecution would be allowed to place it before Judge Ndauendapo.The trial is set to continue on Monday.Da Costa and Nunda are remaining in custody.