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<\/p>\nThe Ondangwa Magistrate\u2019s Court has denied bail to a man (59) accused of killing a village headman and seriously wounding another.<\/p>\n
The state warns that the life of the surviving victim, Iikokola village headman I-Ben Nashandi (54), could be at risk if the accused were to be released.<\/p>\n
State prosecutor Yeukai Kangira has told the court that the accused, Sinskus Johannes, poses a danger to Nashandi who remains in hospital following the shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accused person is facing serious offences, schedule one offences, where one victim is deceased and another is still in hospital. <\/p>\n
We fear that he might go and carry out actions to murder the second victim,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Kangira says the accused also knows the eyewitnesses and could interfere with the investigation if released.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accused person was arrested at a different location. We also fear interference in the case as the accused knows the eyewitnesses. <\/p>\n
It is not in the public interest or administration of justice to be granted bail,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Johannes is accused of shooting Nashandi and his deputy, Sem Nepando, on 3 January following a land dispute at Iikokola village in the Oshikoto region. <\/p>\n
Nepando, who was also the headman of Onelago village, died from the gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n
The accused appeared in court yesterday, where bail was opposed and denied.<\/p>\n
The Namibian has been informed that Johannes sent a voice message on WhatsApp after shooting the duo, stating that he had injured them.<\/p>\n
Johannes is facing charges of murder, attempted murder, discharge of a firearm in a public place and defeating or attempting to defeat the course of justice when he allegedly hid the pistol he used to shoot the two men.<\/p>\n
Kangira adds that the matter is still in the infancy stage as the state is still waiting for witness statements, photos, a postmortem report, medical evidence in the attempted murder charge and a report on the wounds sustained by Nashandi.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor also says the state opposes the granting of bail as Johannes, a former mine worker at Oranjemund, is a flight risk and might abscond if released.<\/p>\n
She adds that Johannes fled the scene when he shot the two traditional leaders.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Namibian Police in a media release issued on Sunday say the shooting occurred after Nashandi, Nepando and their secretary went to Johannes\u2019 house to engage with him over a land dispute.<\/p>\n
The police say the suspect had previously been ordered to move back the fence of his yard from a mahangu field, an instruction he allegedly refused to comply with.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is further alleged that during the engagement, a disagreement erupted and the suspect drew a pistol and shot the headman once in the abdomen. He survived. <\/p>\n
The suspect then shot the assistant headman in the abdomen, who died on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the police, the secretary fled the scene unharmed and alerted other villagers. The incident reportedly occurred at the fence of the mahangu field.<\/p>\n
The police say a Baikal 9mm pistol, the suspected murder weapon, was found discarded in bushes away from the scene.<\/p>\n
Nashandi\u2019s brother, Juno, says the court had made the right decision in refusing bail.<\/p>\n
He adds that the family supports the state\u2019s opposition to bail.<\/p>\n
Juno says the family hopes the court will impose a maximum sentence should the accused be found guilty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a community, residents of Iikokola and as citizens of this country, we condemn this barbaric act committed against civil servants who were duly executing their duties,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are satisfied with the objection to bail and appeal to the prosecution to oppose bail at all levels until a successful conviction is achieved and a stiff maximum sentence is imposed. Justice must prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n
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