Two men accused of robbing and murdering a Walvis Bay resident in his home near the end of 2023 have been found not guilty on two rape charges they also faced during their trial in the Windhoek High Court.
Judge Philanda Christiaan discharged the two men, Quanito van Vuuren (28) and Sem Moses (23), in a ruling delivered on Friday.
Defence lawyers representing Van Vuuren and Moses applied for their discharge on the rape charges after the state concluded its case in their trial.
Van Vuuren and Moses are accused of robbing and murdering Walvis Bay resident Vernon Gavin (53) in his home on 30 December 2023. They were also accused of raping Gavin, who was employed at a bank at the harbour town.
The two accused both denied guilt on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and rape when their trial started before Christiaan near the end of May this year.
In a plea statement given to the court, Moses denied that he had been at Gavin’s home at any point in time.
Van Vuuren, however, informed the court in a plea statement that he and Moses were both at Gavin’s home on 30 December 2023.
Van Vuuren said while they were at Gavin’s house, he heard noises coming from the bedrooms of the dwelling.
He said when he went to see what was making the sounds, he found Gavin lying motionless on the floor, with Moses present.
Van Vuuren denied that he assaulted Gavin, but admitted that he stole items including a cellphone and a tablet computer from Gavin’s house.
Gavin was found lying naked in a shower, with a piece of cloth stuffed into his mouth and with his feet tied together. He died due to suffocation, a medical doctor has told the court.
In her ruling on Friday, Christiaan noted that neither medical evidence nor forensic evidence linked the two accused to a sexual act carried out with Gavin.
Although DNA matching the DNA profiles of both accused was detected on cigarette butts found in Gavin’s house, that DNA evidence did not establish that either of them participated in a sexual act with Gavin or was presented during a sexual assault on him, Christiaan said.
On the evidence before it, the court could not conclude that the two accused committed a sexual act with Gavin or participated in a sexual act with him, Christiaan also said.
The two men’s trial is scheduled to continue from 30 November.
Van Vuuren, who is represented by legal aid lawyer Albert Titus, and Moses, represented by defence lawyer Milton Engelbrecht, have both been held in custody since their arrests at the end of 2023.
State advocate Beata Hamunyela is representing the prosecution.
