Paulus Kiiyala Shiku
Four men who have been in police custody at a Kunene town for six years after being accused of stock theft, walked free last week.
A court order seen by New Era indicates that magistrate Erastus Hatutale acquitted John Idan (33), Dion Nowoseb and Louis Antonius Willemse (35) when the case concluded in the Khorixas Magistrate's Court.
Ricardo Uiseb was the first to be released in October 2021, as there was no evidence against him in the matter.
All accused were charged with three counts of stock theft and two counts in respect of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
Speaking to this publication yesterday, a clearly disappointed Willemse said the arrest and incarceration were not fair.
He said he lost all his properties and now also owes the bank for the loan that he could have paid off if he was not in jail.
"We were locked up for six years over a case they have no proof about. Should they have followed the law properly, we wouldn't have suffered."
He said the animals they were accused of stealing belong to Idan who inherited them from a family member. Idan had asked Willemse to register the cattle and sheep under his brand as Idan does not have a stock brand.
Willemse said when drought came, Idan, who is his employee, decided they sell the animals.
While in Walvis Bay selling the meat, someone made a case with the police that the animals were stolen and got the four arrested.
"I lost my girlfriend, and stayed in a bad place for all those years now, I have nothing left, I have to start over."
Legal aid lawyer Paulus Shilongo, who represented Idan, said the case has been dragging on since 2016 when his client and other accused persons were arrested in connection with the theft of four cattle and eight sheep.
Shilongo said the animals were slaughtered at a farm in Khorixas, and two of the accused persons allegedly transported the carcasses to Walvis Bay to sell there.
He said the State's case was riddled with inconsistent versions and errors as the carcasses and cattle heads found in Walvis Bay were linked to their clients in Khorixas.
The lawyer said the hides of the animals were found in Khorixas, and when the police held an identification parade there, the accused were not present.
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Only those claiming that the slaughtered animals belong to them were present at the parade.
The lawyer added that the State could not prove that the carcasses confiscated in Walvis Bay were the exact ones presented at the identification parade in the presence of the complainants and members of the public in Khorixas.
The police managed to recover all the carcasses.
"Because our clients were not at the identification parade, we submitted that there is no proof that the recovered carcasses can be linked to them. As such, there is also no proof that what was identified are the exact carcasses in our case. The court accepted our arguments and acquitted the accused," explained Shilongo.
pshiku@nepc.com.na
Caption
Applause... Legal aid lawyer Paulus Shilongo.
