Swakop beach murder trial delayed

THE start of the High Court trial of three men being prosecuted over the killing of a Swakopmund goldsmith while she was taking a stroll along one of the town’s beaches two years ago was pushed back by two days because of the late appointment of a defence counsel to represent one of the accused men.

The trial of Naftalie Kondja (28), Matti Kamati (37) and Temus Natangwe Shiwalo (33), who are accused of murdering goldsmith Alexandra Mooren on a beach at Swakopmund on August 13 2004, was scheduled to start before Acting Judge Collins Parker in the High Court in Windhoek on Monday. The trial is now set to begin today, after it took the Directorate of Legal Aid until Monday morning – after the trial had already been supposed to begin – to instruct a defence counsel to represent Shiwalo.He had earlier applied to be given legal aid, but had not been informed by the Directorate about the outcome of his application until Monday, the court was informed.Lawyer Christie Mostert is now set to represent Shiwalo when the trial begins.Kondja will be represented by Lucia Hamutenya, while Sandra Miller will represent the State.Kondja is the only one of the three suspects to remain in custody.He, Kamati and Shiwalo face counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft.Kondja alone is also facing additional charges of illegal possession of a firearm and negligent handling of a firearm.The murder that they are accused of was an incident that left sections of Swakopmund in shock and prompted sombre and angry public demonstrations against crime at the normally laid-back seaside town.Kondja is accused of having been the gunman who shot Mooren (44) on the beach between Swakopmund’s historic jetty and the Mole central beach area at about 07h45 on the morning of August 13 2004.She was walking along the beach on her way to work when she was attacked and killed.Kondja allegedly shot her twice with a .22 revolver that had been stolen out of a car at the town the previous day, and ran off after grabbing Mooren’s handbag.He allegedly passed the handbag on to Kamati and taxi driver Shiwalo after he fleeing from the murder scene.Kondja was arrested on the same day.The firearm used to shoot Mooren was still in his possession, it is alleged in the indictment the three men will face at the trial.They are alleged to have acted with a common purpose, it is also alleged in the indictment, which indicates that the State could call 34 people to testify in the trial.The trial is now set to begin today, after it took the Directorate of Legal Aid until Monday morning – after the trial had already been supposed to begin – to instruct a defence counsel to represent Shiwalo.He had earlier applied to be given legal aid, but had not been informed by the Directorate about the outcome of his application until Monday, the court was informed.Lawyer Christie Mostert is now set to represent Shiwalo when the trial begins.Kondja will be represented by Lucia Hamutenya, while Sandra Miller will represent the State.Kondja is the only one of the three suspects to remain in custody.He, Kamati and Shiwalo face counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft.Kondja alone is also facing additional charges of illegal possession of a firearm and negligent handling of a firearm.The murder that they are accused of was an incident that left sections of Swakopmund in shock and prompted sombre and angry public demonstrations against crime at the normally laid-back seaside town.Kondja is accused of having been the gunman who shot Mooren (44) on the beach between Swakopmund’s historic jetty and the Mole central beach area at about 07h45 on the morning of August 13 2004.She was walking along the beach on her way to work when she was attacked and killed.Kondja allegedly shot her twice with a .22 revolver that had been stolen out of a car at the town the previous day, and ran off after grabbing Mooren’s handbag.He allegedly passed the handbag on to Kamati and taxi driver Shiwalo after he fleeing from the murder scene.Kondja was arrested on the same day.The firearm used to shoot Mooren was still in his possession, it is alleged in the indictment the three men will face at the trial.They are alleged to have acted with a common purpose, it is also alleged in the indictment, which indicates that the State could call 34 people to testify in the trial.