Patience Makwele
A bid by a man accused of murdering his girlfriend to have the High Court judge presiding over his trial removed has failed, clearing the way for proceedings to continue after the court found no reasonable basis to conclude that it was biased against him.
High Court judge Dinah Usiku on Monday, during a hearing in Windhoek ruled that Roger Beeth (36) had failed to establish a reasonable apprehension of bias, saying the facts before the court did not justify her recusal from the matter.
Beeth is facing one count of murder, read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, as well as defeating or obstructing the course of justice, following the death of his girlfriend, Bertha Witbooi.
The State alleges that between 3 and 4 March 2023, at or near Otjinene, Beeth murdered Witbooi before attempting to obstruct the course of justice by burning a stick allegedly linked to the incident and falsely telling police and others that the deceased had arrived home already injured after being assaulted elsewhere.
The recusal application followed a trial-within-a-trial in which the defence unsuccessfully challenged the admissibility of Beeth’s confession and a pointing-out made to police, arguing that investigators failed to properly explain his constitutional right against self-incrimination before obtaining the statement.
Usiku, however, found that the evidence showed the police officer who recorded the confession had explained Beeth’s constitutional rights before the statement was made.
She further found that the defence had relied on portions of the confession form without placing them in their proper context during cross-examination.
“The court may not sit back as an umpire while a document admitted into evidence is used in a manner that may mislead the witness because it is devoid of context. The court has a duty to see to it that justice is done,” Usiku said.
The judge said the court was entitled to intervene where evidence risked being presented in a misleading manner.
Addressing the recusal application, Usiku said the defence had failed to produce convincing evidence that the court was biased or had acted unfairly.
“As much as the court is required to recuse itself when the test for recusal is satisfied, it has an equal duty not to recuse itself where the facts of the matter do not warrant recusal,” she ruled.
Usiku also noted that, after the court admitted the confession into evidence, the defence had the option of applying for leave to appeal that ruling rather than seeking the judge’s removal from the case.
The dismissal of the recusal application clears the way for the High Court to resume hearing evidence in Beeth’s murder trial.
