Joubert suspect pleads guilty

ONE of the two men accused of killing a former spokesperson of Namibia’s then Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism in a remote part of the Omaheke Region, pleaded guilty to all charges against him in the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Steve Kaseraera (24) offered guilty pleas on counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft of a motor vehicle. He and a co-accused, Muamuhona Karirao (21), were making their second court appearance in two days at Gobabis.Karirao pleaded not guilty on all counts.Kaseraera and Karirao are accused of murdering Jan Joubert (59), a former spokesman of the forerunner of Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, in the Steenboklaagte area north of Talismanis on Wednesday last week.Joubert, who was the author of a number of all-wheel-drive vehicle travelling guides, was travelling through the area as part of a project in which he was retracing the route that a group of Dorslandtrekkers had taken through Namibia by ox wagon in the late nineteenth century.According to a source at the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court, Kaseraera and Karirao, who were arrested on Sunday in connection with the killing of Joubert, told Magistrate Johannes Shuuveni yesterday that they wanted to apply to the Directorate of Legal Aid to be given legal representation.They however also indicated to the court that they were prepared to plead to the charges against them without having been given legal representation yet.Kaseraera explained his guilty pleas by telling the Magistrate that he had killed Joubert by shooting him in the chest with a rifle.He had killed Joubert because he wanted to rob him, Kaseraera added.Pleading not guilty, Karirao told the court that he had been present at the scene where Joubert was killed.He had been an unwilling spectator to the events, though, he claimed.He had been under duress because of threats from Kaseraera to the effect that he would kill Karirao if the latter did not co-operate with Kaseraera, Karirao claimed.The two suspects are scheduled to appear in court again on August 29, after Public Prosecutor Tuvoye Hishikushitja asked the Magistrate to postpone their case to that date so that further investigations could be done in the meantime.The Namibian Police announced yesterday that goods that are alleged to have been stolen from Joubert when he was robbed and killed had been found hidden at farm Rooibult at Post Otjiuapeke in the Omaheke Region on Sunday.The recovered items, worth thousands of Namibia dollars according to the Police, include a portable refrigerator, three cool boxes, seven jerry cans, vehicle spare parts and tools, three gas bottles, two mosquito nets and two torches.Others items that were recovered include three lamps, two ladders, three camping chairs, two camping stretcher beds, two bags containing clothes, and blankets.* Additional reporting by NampaHe and a co-accused, Muamuhona Karirao (21), were making their second court appearance in two days at Gobabis.Karirao pleaded not guilty on all counts.Kaseraera and Karirao are accused of murdering Jan Joubert (59), a former spokesman of the forerunner of Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, in the Steenboklaagte area north of Talismanis on Wednesday last week.Joubert, who was the author of a number of all-wheel-drive vehicle travelling guides, was travelling through the area as part of a project in which he was retracing the route that a group of Dorslandtrekkers had taken through Namibia by ox wagon in the late nineteenth century.According to a source at the Gobabis Magistrate’s Court, Kaseraera and Karirao, who were arrested on Sunday in connection with the killing of Joubert, told Magistrate Johannes Shuuveni yesterday that they wanted to apply to the Directorate of Legal Aid to be given legal representation.They however also indicated to the court that they were prepared to plead to the charges against them without having been given legal representation yet.Kaseraera explained his guilty pleas by telling the Magistrate that he had killed Joubert by shooting him in the chest with a rifle.He had killed Joubert because he wanted to rob him, Kaseraera added.Pleading not guilty, Karirao told the court that he had been present at the scene where Joubert was killed.He had been an unwilling spectator to the events, though, he claimed.He had been under duress because of threats from Kaseraera to the effect that he would kill Karirao if the latter did not co-operate with Kaseraera, Karirao claimed.The two suspects are scheduled to appear in court again on August 29, after Public Prosecutor Tuvoye Hishikushitja asked the Magistrate to postpone their case to that date so that further investigations could be done in the meantime.The Namibian Police announced yesterday that goods that are alleged to have been stolen from Joubert when he was robbed and killed had been found hidden at farm Rooibult at Post Otjiuapeke in the Omaheke Region on Sunday.The recovered items, worth thousands of Namibia dollars according to the Police, include a portable refrigerator, three cool boxes, seven jerry cans, vehicle spare parts and tools, three gas bottles, two mosquito nets and two torches.Others items that were recovered include three lamps, two ladders, three camping chairs, two camping stretcher beds, two bags containing clothes, and blankets.* Additional reporting by Nampa