WINDHOEK: Presiding Judge Naomi Shivute on Wednesday reserved judgment in a matter in which a man accused of having raped and murdered a woman, is disputing implicating statements he made to the police at the time of his arrest.
Shivute in the High Court reserved judgement to 07 August 2024, and also ordered that the trial commences on 20 January 2025.
In the matter, the accused, Abel Mokalabatho, 26, allegedly raped and murdered 27-year-old Anna Geinamses on 01 August 2020 while the two were socialising with friends. The state is charging that Geinamses went to an outside toilet, whereupon the suspect followed her and dragged her to his bedroom, a distance away from the toilet.
Further allegations are that he locked himself and Geinamses in the room and raped her before killing her.
‘When the deceased wanted to leave the bedroom on Sunday she informed the accused that she would report him to her mother and the police. This caused the accused to kill the deceased by stabbing her with a knife in the neck a
nd strangling her with a piece of wire,’ the indictment reads.
It is further alleged that the accused dumped the body in a drain some distance away from his bedroom. The state is also alleging that Mokalabatho cleared the crime scene and buried the murder weapon, a knife.
Mokalabatho faces charges of murder, three counts of rape, kidnapping, and defeating the course of justice. Upon his arrest, Mokalabatho accompanied the police to the crime scene, pointing out incriminating evidence, a decision he now challenges. He is also challenging the search and arrest warrants as well as a plea he made in accordance with Section 119 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Mbanga Siyomundji is representing Mokalabatho, while Ethel Ndlovu is representing the State.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency