Three men facing charges in connection with a fatal robbery committed at Windhoek’s Avis Dam in July 2020 made their first pretrial appearance in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
The three men – Kefas Iileka (36), Johannes Shetunyenga (35) and Antonio Cheme (28) – appeared before deputy judge president Hosea Angula for a pretrial hearing two months after their case was transferred from the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
Their case was transferred to the High Court after the prosecutor general decided that they should stand trial in that court on seven charges, including counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder.
The state is alleging that the three accused robbed and murdered Windhoek resident Daniele Ferrari (52) on 14 July 2020.
Ferrari was attacked while visiting Avis Dam on the eastern side of Windhoek in the late afternoon.
During the attack, he was stabbed with a knife and cut with a panga, the state is alleging.
Ferrari died at the scene of the attack.
It is also alleged that the assailants robbed Ferrari by taking a cellphone, wallet containing about N$1 000, a belt, a wristwatch, remote control devices and keys from him.
Two other people were also attacked at Avis Dam on 14 July 2020.
Iileka, Shetunyenga and Cheme are charged with counts of attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in connection with those attacks, during which two men were allegedly assaulted with a panga and a knife.
The state is further alleging that the three accused committed an armed robbery at Avis Dam on 10 July 2020 as well.
In that incident, a woman visiting the dam in the late afternoon was allegedly threatened with a screwdriver or other weapon and robbed of a cellphone, set of earphones and a golden wristwatch.
In other charges levelled at the three accused, the state is alleging that they defeated or obstructed the course of justice after the attack that claimed Ferrari’s life, by getting rid of the panga and knife used in the attack on Ferrari, throwing away an identity card, medical aid fund membership card and bank card that were in his wallet and getting rid of the cellphone stolen from him in an attempt to hinder efforts by the police to trace the phone.
Iileka, Shetunyenga and Cheme were arrested in November 2020.
The state is alleging that at the time of their arrest, the police found a pistol for which Iileka did not have a licence in the room where he lived.
Iileka, Shetunyenga and Cheme have to return to court on 22 February for a second pretrial hearing.
They are free on bail in the meantime. Cheme was granted bail in an amount of N$5 000 in July 2021, while Iileka and Shetunyenga were released on bail of N$2 000 each in August 2022.
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