Neumann case sent to regional court

THE five suspects charged with the murder of German national Thilo Neumann (40) at Swakopmund in January 2010 were giggling when they were informed that their case had been transferred to the Swakopmund Regional Court.

Yesterday was the first time since Neumann’s murder at his Swakop River smallholding that all five suspects have appeared in court together. According the prosecutor, orderlies and interpreter, the suspects were giggling like ‘naughty little boys’.Lazarus Kambonde was the fifth and last suspect to be arrested in February after he returned to Namibia after hiding in South Africa for two years.He joined his co-accused Fillemon Shilongo, Sem Shamha, David David and David Asino in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The latter four were all arrested in 2010 and 2011.All five suspects will remain in custody until their first Regional Court appearance in May.Neumann was gunned down at his front door in the early morning of January 18 2010. The suspects allegedly overpowered the security guard on the plot, and when Neumann walked out to see what was going on, he was shot dead on the spot.The suspects first fled by foot to a getaway car parked nearby, but not long after the vehicle sped away from the scene the driver lost control and rolled the vehicle. The suspects then again fled on foot, but several hours later, Shilongo was arrested, and Shamha soon afterwards. The other suspects were arrested later elsewhere in Namibia.