//Kharas farm killer delays sentencing

The sentencing of two men convicted of murdering an elderly couple at a farm in the //Kharas region in February 2018 has been postponed to next year. This is because one of the convicted men says he wants to first complain about an alleged irregularity in his trial.

Andries Afrikaner (43) informed judge Dinnah Usiku in the Windhoek High Court on Friday that he wants to apply to have a special entry made in his trial record in terms of a section of the Criminal Procedure Act that deals with irregularities that occurred during a trial.

However, defence lawyer Thomas Andima, who represented Afrikaner during the last stage of his trial, told the judge he is not able to continue to represent Afrikaner with the application he intends to make.

As a result, Andima has withdrawn from the matter.

Afrikaner and a co-accused, Julius Arndt (47), were both found guilty on two counts of murder and charges of housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances, rape, and conspiring to commit murder and robbery in a judgement delivered on 4 October.

Usiku found in her judgement that the prosecution proved that Arndt and Afrikaner murdered and robbed a farming couple, Giel and Sarie Botma, after breaking into their house near Koës in the //Kharas region during the night of 2 to 3 February 2018.

Giel Botma (78) was killed when he was shot at point-blank range with a .22 rifle.

Sarie Botma (80) was found partly naked, locked in a bathroom in the couple’s house. She had been strangled with a shoelace. The state alleged she had been raped as well.

In her judgement, Usiku found that forensic evidence showed she had been raped by Arndt.

Usiku also found that Arndt and Afrikaner assisted each other in committing the crimes at the couple’s home.

Afrikaner’s presence at the scene where Sarie Botma was raped, and the fact that he did nothing to dissociate himself from Arndt’s actions, made him a willing participant in the crimes committed at the couple’s home, Usiku said.

Arndt and Afrikaner both made self-incriminating statements to a magistrate at Keetmanshoop following their arrest.

In the statements, each of them admitted they had been at the Botmas’ farm during the night when the couple was killed.

Arndt and Afrikaner further admitted they had burgled the couple’s house and implicated each other in connection with the killing of the couple.

Afrikaner did not testify in his own defence during the trial.

Usiku said in her judgement that, whereas Arndt and Afrikaner in their confessions tried to blame each other regarding who first went into the Botmas’ house, “what is crucial is that they both entered the farm house illegally at night, through the window”.

Considering the manner in which the couple was killed – being shot and strangled – the two men had a direct intention to kill them, Usiku found.

The two convicted men were in court on Friday for a pre-sentence hearing, which did not proceed because of Andima’s withdrawal and Afrikaner’s intention to apply for a special entry to be made on the trial record.

Usiku postponed the case to 3 March, for Afrikaner’s application to be heard then.

Arndt and Afrikaner have both been held in custody since their arrests in February 2018.

State advocate Seredine Jacobs is prosecuting.

Arndt is being represented by defence lawyer Joseph Andreas.