Three in court over attack on doctor

THREE medical interns who allegedly attacked Dr John Kamara on Thursday appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a charge of robbery.

Sporting shaven heads, newly-qualified doctors Gert Hendrik Engelbrecht (24) and Johannes Pieter Human (24), as well as the unshaven, bespectacled Werner Herman Wagner (27), were not asked to plead. Police had said they would face charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm as well as theft, but only the robbery charge was mentioned in court.Kamara, who is from Sierra Leone, claimed his attackers got away with his cell phone.Magistrate Elina Nandago yesterday postponed the case to May 14 for further investigation.Prosecutor Karin van Wyk did not oppose the request to extend the N$1 000 bail each granted to Engelbrecht, Human and Wagner.Engelbrecht and Human, who were granted bail on Friday night, turned up at court wearing dark jackets and later joined their fellow intern, Wagner, in the dock.Police said they arrested Wagner yesterday morning after they failed to locate him on Friday.Both Engelbrecht and Human are listed as Namibians on the charge-sheet, although they are South African nationals.Kamara was attacked by three men at around 03h00 on Thursday while rushing to attend to a patient at the Katutura State Hospital.Kamara said he only learnt on Friday that his assailants were colleagues.The three interns and Acting Medical Superintendent Andreas Obholzer told The Namibian at the weekend that he believed the incident was a case of mistaken identity.Having experienced a string of break-ins at the doctors’ quarters, and shortly after another doctor’s computer and other goods had been stolen, the three said they set out to apprehend the culprits and encountered Kamara driving on the private hospital road between the two institutions.They allegedly forced him off the road and chased him on foot.They kicked and punched him and also clubbed him with some sort of bar, Kamara claimed.Kamara later complained that none of the interns or Obholzer had approached him to explain what had happened or to apologise.Yesterday, Obholzer repeated that he felt the matter was an unfortunate misunderstanding and said he hoped it could be settled out of court.He told The Namibian that he hoped all parties could meet to discuss the incident and that the hospital could consider compensating Kamara for his cellphone and mental anguish suffered as a result of the attack.Obholzer said he was upset by allegations that he had not shown enough sympathy towards Kamara after the incident.He said despite only assuming the post of acting head of the hospital, he had apologised “on behalf of the system” to Kamara on Thursday when they met at the spot where the attack had take place.Obholzer said Kamara was not at home when he made follow-up visits to his flat the next day, and that messages left for him to contact Obholzer went unreturned.Police had said they would face charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm as well as theft, but only the robbery charge was mentioned in court. Kamara, who is from Sierra Leone, claimed his attackers got away with his cell phone. Magistrate Elina Nandago yesterday postponed the case to May 14 for further investigation. Prosecutor Karin van Wyk did not oppose the request to extend the N$1 000 bail each granted to Engelbrecht, Human and Wagner. Engelbrecht and Human, who were granted bail on Friday night, turned up at court wearing dark jackets and later joined their fellow intern, Wagner, in the dock. Police said they arrested Wagner yesterday morning after they failed to locate him on Friday. Both Engelbrecht and Human are listed as Namibians on the charge-sheet, although they are South African nationals. Kamara was attacked by three men at around 03h00 on Thursday while rushing to attend to a patient at the Katutura State Hospital. Kamara said he only learnt on Friday that his assailants were colleagues. The three interns and Acting Medical Superintendent Andreas Obholzer told The Namibian at the weekend that he believed the incident was a case of mistaken identity. Having experienced a string of break-ins at the doctors’ quarters, and shortly after another doctor’s computer and other goods had been stolen, the three said they set out to apprehend the culprits and encountered Kamara driving on the private hospital road between the two institutions. They allegedly forced him off the road and chased him on foot. They kicked and punched him and also clubbed him with some sort of bar, Kamara claimed. Kamara later complained that none of the interns or Obholzer had approached him to explain what had happened or to apologise. Yesterday, Obholzer repeated that he felt the matter was an unfortunate misunderstanding and said he hoped it could be settled out of court. He told The Namibian that he hoped all parties could meet to discuss the incident and that the hospital could consider compensating Kamara for his cellphone and mental anguish suffered as a result of the attack. Obholzer said he was upset by allegations that he had not shown enough sympathy towards Kamara after the incident. He said despite only assuming the post of acting head of the hospital, he had apologised “on behalf of the system” to Kamara on Thursday when they met at the spot where the attack had take place. Obholzer said Kamara was not at home when he made follow-up visits to his flat the next day, and that messages left for him to contact Obholzer went unreturned.