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Lawyer withdraws from murder trial

A MAN accused of having murdered his girlfriend in a stabbing at Neudamm, east of Windhoek, in August 2009 will have to again apply for legal aid after his defence lawyer withdrew from his case in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.

The murder trial of Eben Cloete (38) was due to start before Judge Dinnah Usiku yesterday until the matter hit a snag when defence lawyer Brownell Uirab informed the judge that he was withdrawing from the case.

Uirab said during his consultations with Cloete over a number of days, he received instructions which made it impossible for him to represent Cloete during his trial. He added that Cloete could not give him suitable instructions that would enable him to make a proper defence, and that he and Cloete have reached a deadlock.

The accused confirmed to the judge that he wanted to be represented by another lawyer.

His case was postponed to tomorrow to see if the Directorate of Legal Aid will be able to brief a different lawyer to take over his defence.

Cloete’s trial dates – from the start of this week to the end of next week -were fixed when he made a pretrial appearance in the High Court in June last year.

He is due to stand trial on a charge of housebreaking with intent to murder, and murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.

The state is alleging that Cloete murdered his girlfriend, Anna Nadia Coetzee (27), on 13 August 2009 by stabbing her eight times

with a knife or other sharp object in her parent’s house at the Neudamm Experimental Farm.

Coetzee, who had a child with Cloete, allegedly went into her room in her parents’ house and locked the door when she saw Cloete approaching her, but Cloete then broke open the door, entered the room and attacked her.

He fled from the scene after the attack, the state is also alleging.

Coetzee died at the scene as a result of stab injuries to her chest.

Cloete indicated in a pretrial document filed at the court that he would plead not guilty to the charge.

He was granted bail five months after the incident, but his bail was cancelled when he failed to reappear in court in December 2012.

Cloete has remained in custody after he was rearrested on the charge in September 2013.

State advocate Palmer Kumalo is set to represent the prosecution during the trial.

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