American accused sues for N$1.1m

American murder accused Marcus Thomas is suing the safety and security minister, the commissioner-general of correctional facilities and four prison wardens for N$1.1 million.Thomas, who with fellow American citizen Kevan Donell Townsend is standing trial for the murder of Namibian citizen Andre Heckmair in Windhoek in 2011, is claiming N$500 000 for assault and torture, N$200 000 for emotional stress or post-traumatic stress disorder and N$400 000 for “constitutional damages”.He claims he was assaulted at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.According to him he was involved in a physical altercation with another inmate on 13 January 2017, and was initially separated from the prison population before being taken back to his cell in E Section.He alleges he was summoned from E Section to the office of Silas Matheus, who is an officer at the prison.Matheus was in the company of Esra ‘Swapo’ Kaisitungu, Josiah, Siambanga and a certain Shimbome, all of whom are prison wardens and respondents in the matter.Thomas said he was asked to explain the physical altercation, but Matheus did not accept his explanation.“In his view, I had a problem with all Africans,” Thomas said.Matheus allegedly then ordered a prison warden to bring in another inmate, Reinhardt Itembu, who was ordered to beat Thomas, but refused to do so.Thomas claimed he was ordered to sit on the office floor and an officer was told by Matheus to hand out plastic batons to the other wardens.According to Thomas, Matheus told him that “all Americans are so arrogant” and that they are responsible for torturing people “at Guantanamo Bay near Cuba”.An officer allegedly told Thomas that an attack on an inmate is an attack on all prison wardens and unknown officer immediately struck him with his fist on his head. Matheus allegedly grabbed a baton, walked towards Thomas and ordered him to sit down, and when he refused and he struck him in the face.“Thereafter each and every warden present in the room started to beat me all over my body,” Thomas said, who added that he did not fight back but simply covered his face.He said his right arm was swollen and bleeding and he was locked up alone in a cell.He said he was later examined and treated by a nurse at the correctional facility’s clinic. Later he was taken by members of the Nampol Special Field Force for treatment at a Katutura hospital and was thereafter brought back to his single cell at the facility.Matheus allegedly instructed his subordinate that Thomas should not receive visitors or be allowed to make phone calls.Thomas said Manfred Tatamunua and Innocent Mukabi from the correctional service head office interviewed him regarding the assault.He said he laid charges of attempted murder and assault against Matheus at the Katutura police station in March 2017.The commissioner-general of correctional facilities conducted a disciplinary inquiry into Matheus’ conduct and charged him with assault, alternatively with conducting himself in a manner likely to discredit the good order and reputation of the service, Thomas said.Meanwhile, it was confirmed last week that a bid by Thomas and Townsend to have Judge Christie Liebenberg recuse himself from the Heckmair murder trial had been dismissed.The two accused have denied guilt on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, the import of firearm parts into Namibia without a licence, the possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence and defeating or obstructing the course of justice or attempting to do so.All of the charges are connected to the killing of the 25-year-old Heckmair, who was shot dead in a car in a quiet street in Klein Windhoek on 7 January 2011.FRED GOEIEMAN

American accused sues for N$1.1m

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-03

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American accused sues for N$1.1m

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-03

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