Niël Terblanché
The Swakopmund Regional Court postponed Jandre Dippenaar’s sentencing procedure until the third week of August after finding him guilty on six counts of murder last week.
Dippenaar also received a conviction on Thursday last week for reckless and negligent driving as well as for operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
The charges stem from a car crash between a Ford Ranger and a Toyota FJ Cruiser near Henties Bay on 29 December 2014.
The crash claimed the lives of German nationals Walter Helmut Joschko, Stephanie Dorothea Schemick Joschko, and Alexandra Marlene Joschko, who were passengers in the Ford Ranger.
Dinah Pretorius, from Gobabis, Charlene Schoombee, from Windhoek and JC Horn, who were passengers in the FJ Cruiser that was driven by Dippenaar, also passed away on the scene of the crash on that fateful day.
At the start of the sentencing aspect of Dippenaar’s trial, legal counsel for the convicted person, Petrie Theron, brought an application to the court in which he sought a postponement.
Theron informed the court that Dippenaar has obtained Advocate Albert Strydom’s services, and that the newly appointed senior counsel will need time to prepare arguments in mitigation of sentencing.
Advocate Louis Botes represented Dippenaar throughout the trial process.
Botes passed away late in May this year.
Theron argued that the convicted person has the constitutional right to legal representation and that senior counsel like Advocate Strydom should continue representing him.
The state prosecutor, Advocate Henry Muhongo, opposed the application and argued that the old adage of ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ also has a bearing on the victims of crime and that the sentencing procedure of Dippenaar should continue as scheduled because he already has legal counsel present in court.
Theron countered this argument by reminding the court that he acted as advising counsel throughout the convicted person’s trial, and that Advocate Botes was the instructed counsel.
He argued that it would be unfair and unconstitutional to force him to act as legal counsel would be unfair and unconstitutional, whereas the convicted person has the right to appoint the legal counsel of his choice.
“Should the convicted person’s constitutional rights be violated because the state does not want to allow a postponement,” he inquired from the court.
After a short adjournment of the court proceedings, Magistrate Gaynor Paulton stated that the court does have to acknowledge the defendant’s constitutional rights before granting the request to postpone the matter to August this year.
She ruled that the matter should continue on 20 August. The sentencing aspect of the trial is set down to continue until 22 August.
Thereafter, Theron informed the court that he would like to go ahead with a formal bail application.
Advocate Muhongo, on behalf of the state, vehemently opposed the motion and argued that nothing has changed with regard to the convicted person’s status since the court ordered that he should be placed in police custody until the sentencing is completed.
Magistrate Paulton rejected the motion for a formal bail application brought by Theron and ordered that the convicted person should remain in police custody until the matter continues on 20 August.
Last week, Magistrate Paulton ruled that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused person knew full well that his actions could have had deadly consequences and that he is therefore guilty of murder on the grounds of Dolus Eventualis.
Before pronouncing the guilty verdict on the six counts of murder, Magistrate Paulton also found Dippenaar guilty on a count of reckless and negligent driving and a count of driving a vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
