Murder accused denied permission to appeal in Supreme Court

WINDHOEK, 17 SEP – The High Court on Monday refused to allow five people arrested for murder permission to appeal in the Supreme Court against their failed attempt to have Acting High Court Judge, Johanna Salionga removed from their trial.
The five accused – Annastacia Lubinda, 33; Dave Kondjera, 32; Donald Hindjou, 26; Abiud Uazeua, 35; and 27-year-old Dollam Tjitjahuma – are on trial in the High Court over the death of 36-year-old Windhoek municipal worker, Peter Muleke, in 2015.
On 12 September 2018, the accused, through their respective State-funded defence lawyers, brought a joint application before the same judge in which they asked the court to grant them permission to appeal in the Supreme Court against the dismissal of an earlier application for the immediate removal of the judge from continuing to preside over their trial.
In her ruling on Monday, Salionga refused to allow the five accused leave to appeal in the Supreme Court and thereafter ordered the proceedings of the main trial to commence with no further delays.
The matter was then postponed to 27 September 2018 to allow the defence lawyers enough time to get further instructions from their clients on the way forward.
In the matter, the accused’s first attempt for the removal of the judge from their trial failed on 20 April 2018 when it was dismissed by the court.
The failed recusal application was brought before court on 16 March 2018 after the accused’s confessions and other self-incriminating statements were admitted as evidence on 05 March 2018.
The disputed confessions and other statements admitted as evidence before court will now be used by the prosecution against the accused during the continuation of the main trial.
In her ruling in respect of the initial recusal bid on 20 April 2018, Salionga said all the allegations of bias and that she cannot handle the trial in an impartial manner raised by the accused, are without merit.
Salionga, at the time, dismissed the application, saying the accused made the confessions and other statements voluntarily and were not forced by the police as they were claiming before court.
According to the judge, the accused were in full control of their minds when they gave the police investigating team detailed information about their participation in the murder of Muleke on 31 March 2015.
The sixth accused – David Matali, 45 – died earlier this year after he collapsed while in police custody at the Windhoek Central Correctional Facility’s trial-awaiting section.
Muleke was found dead a few metres from his car in the Goreangab Dam area on the western outskirts of Katutura on 31 March 2015.
Lubinda, who is listed as accused number one in the matter, is Muleke’s wife.
The five entered not guilty pleas against the charges on 14 November 2017 in the presence of their respective defence lawyers; Milton Engelbrecht, Natji Tjirera, Mbanga Siyomuinji, Miriam Kenaruzo and Tuna Nhinda.
They remain in police custody at the Windhoek Central Correctional Facility until their next court appearance. – NAMPA