Ex-police officer to admit murder of former partner

An ex-policeman accused of fatally stabbing his former domestic partner at Keetmans­hoop in June 2021 plans to admit guilt on the charges he is facing in the Windhoek High Court.

Judge Dinnah Usiku was informed that former police officer Morgan Plaatjie (46) intends to plead guilty when Plaatjie appeared before her in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility on Monday and yesterday.

After state advocate Anna Amukugo told the judge yesterday that she needed more time to consider the pleas offered by Plaatjie and to discuss this with her superiors, Usiku postponed the matter to 23 April.

Plaatjie (46) is charged with six counts, consisting of charges of housebreaking and murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, attempted murder, assault by threat, malicious damage to property and two counts of violating a protection order issued in terms of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.

The state is alleging that Plaatjie attacked his former domestic partner, Yvette Louw (38), and a man with whom she was involved in a relationship at her home at Keetmanshoop during the night of 25 to 26 June 2021.

Plaatjie was a warrant officer in the Namibian Police and was attached to the police’s Gender-based Violence Investigateion Unit at Keetmanshoop at the time.

During the attack, Plaatjie was allegedly armed with a knife, with which he stabbed Louw and her boyfriend. When Louw fled into her home after she had been attacked outside, Plaatjie broke open a door of the house and continued to stab her inside the house, the state is charging.

After Louw collapsed in the house, Plaatjie allegedly made a phone call to a fellow police officer and reported that he had stabbed her and that she should be collected and taken to a hospital.

Louw died shortly after she had been transported to a hospital.

The state is also alleging that Plaatjie previously assaulted Louw or made threats against her, and that she obtained a domestic violence protection order against him in August 2020. The protection order was still valid when she was killed.

The protection order had been breached by Plaatjie in May 2021 as well when he arrived at Louw’s residence, threatened her with violence and damaged a television set, the state is alleging.

Plaatjie was arrested and charged after that alleged incident, and was released on bail before the fatal attack on Louw took place.

He has been held in custody since his arrest after the killing.

Defence lawyer Boris Isaacks is representing Plaatjie.