Namibia: Forensic Report Admissible in Trial

Windhoek — Judge Alfred Siboleka on Tuesday granted approval to introduce a report compiled by Maryn Swart of the Namibia Forensic and Scientific Institute. The report was only commissioned in February of this year prompting the defence counsels of Charles Namiseb and Edwin Tourob to object to its admissibility. The defence described the report as new evidence and argued strongly that it should not be admitted as evidence.

They further argued that it would infringe on their clients' constitutional right to a fair trial, since they did not have the opportunity to study it prior to its submission as additional evidence. Brownell Uirab, who represents Namiseb on instructions of the legal aid directorate strongly objected to the report, saying the state had ample time to complete its investigation and that to come up with new evidence at this stage in the trial is tantamount to derailing his defence strategy. He also claimed that had he known earlier about the new evidence, he would have devised a different approach to his defence.

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