Eba Kandovazu
ERNST Lichtenstrasser, the man accused of brutally gunning down two executives at the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology(NIMT) in Arandis, has made another appearance in the Windhoek High Court today.
Lichtenstrasser, 58, reportedly shot Eckhart Mueller, 72, and Heimo Hellwig, 60, in April 2019, sending shockwaves in the small town. The trial is before Judge Christie Liebenberg, with Deputy Prosecutor General, Antonia Verhoeff, representing the State. Lichtenstrasser denied playing any role in the alleged murders at the start of the trial. He was employed as a Senior Lecturer at the campus in Tsumeb.
Lichtenstrasser faces a total eight charges. In addition to the double murder charges he faces, Lichtenstrasser also faces charges of possession of an illegal firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, obstructing the course of justice by allegedly burying a pistol with live ammunition in the desert at Swakopmund. He is also charged with theft, in that he stole a firearm in 2016. Another charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm had been added to the charge sheet, in that he possessed it since 2016 to 2019.
The State is also alleging that he unlawfully supplied a firearm to someone in Okongo, without prior authorization, in 2016. Dr Augustu Gawab, who carried out the post mortem on 17 April, 2019, a day after the incident, had testified that in the case of Mueller, an observation was made that he sustained a head injury as a result of a gunshot to his head, leading to massive bleeding and skull fracture.
The massive bleeding, which he says is the cause of death, was a result of the impact to the skull. The gunshot to the head, according to the doctor, was above the left eye and the bullet exited from the back.
Mueller was also shot on his nose, causing a fracture to his nasal bone. The bullet exited from the other side of the nose, Dr Gawab explained. The trial is continuing.
