Hertta-Maria Amutenja
On Monday, the Katutura Magistrate’s Court denied bail to two murder suspects arrested in connection with the death of Christof Frederick (30).
The state opposed bail, citing concerns about potential interference with investigations, the severity of the case, and public interest.
Namwandi Nandomba (19) and Mervin Beukes (18) faced charges of murder, defeating the course of justice, and violating a dead body.
The case has been postponed to July 31 for further investigation. The two young men are incarcerated at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
Frederick’s relatives and sympathisers gathered at the court to demand justice.
The arrests followed a police investigation and community cooperation. On Saturday, police arrested, Beukes, the first suspect in Windhoek, and on Sunday, they arrested the second suspect, Nandomba, in Swakopmund.
Frederick’s lifeless body was discovered in Windhoek’s Otjomuise area in a riverbed near Chairman Mao Zedong School in Ganzi Street, bearing 32 stab wounds and with his private parts removed and placed on his chest.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson Elifas Kuwinga confirmed the arrest of two female suspects on Monday, accused of intentionally destroying evidence to conceal the primary suspects’ identities.
They are scheduled to appear in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
“We confirm the additional arrest of two female suspects. The suspects are responsible for intentionally destroying evidence to conceal the identity of the suspects,” said Kuwinga.
Last week, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) activist Nicodemus Auxumub, also known as Mama Africa, claimed that the private member bill that Swapo backbencher Jerry Ekandjo introduced in the National Assembly last year is inciting violence against LGBTQI+ members.
The activists said the bill is putting the lives of the LGBTQI+ community in danger, adding that members of the community no longer feel safe because society is targeting them as a result of their sexual orientation.
“The Ekandjo bill is instigating violence. They also forget that we are taxpayers. No one is above the law. Lawmakers are violating the Namibian Constitution. These are people’s lives they’re talking about. They did not even study the bill. Let us not be radical about LQBTQI+ rights. If leaders are instigating violence, then we will never be safe,” said Auxumub.
