Covid delays Möller murder trial
The Möller murder trial had to be postponed because the accused were in quarantine in the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
22 September 2020 | Justice
ERWIN LEUSCHNER
SWAKOPMUND
The start of the murder trial of the five men accused of murdering Walvis Bay businessman Hans-Jörg Möller in 2016 has been delayed until next Monday.
The trial could not begin on Friday in the Windhoek High Court, as all the prisoners in the Windhoek Correctional Facility - including the five accused - were placed in isolation. On Friday, prosecutor Marthino Olivier said the accused were not brought to court because some inmates had come into contact with others who had tested positive for Covid-19.
Judge Dinnah Usiko postponed the start of the trial to 28 September.
This also gives Panduleni Gotlieb's lawyer, Tjingairi Kaurivi, an opportunity to prepare for the trial.
Mastermind
Gotlieb (30) is said to have been the mastermind behind Möller's murder.
He faces charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery, possession of an unlicensed weapon and burglary. His co-accused are David Tashiya (29), Malakia Shiweda (28), David Shekundja (27) and Ally Ndapuka Hinaivali (29), who face the same charges.
They are allegedly responsible for an armed robbery on Möller and his family in Walvis Bay in June 2016.
During the incident, Möller was shot in the stomach and hospitalised. Days later, he succumbed to his injuries. Möller, the owner of Sun Sail Catamarans and a well-known personality in tourism circles, passed away in the Cottage Hospital in Swakopmund.
-Additional reporting by Nampa
[email protected]
SWAKOPMUND
The start of the murder trial of the five men accused of murdering Walvis Bay businessman Hans-Jörg Möller in 2016 has been delayed until next Monday.
The trial could not begin on Friday in the Windhoek High Court, as all the prisoners in the Windhoek Correctional Facility - including the five accused - were placed in isolation. On Friday, prosecutor Marthino Olivier said the accused were not brought to court because some inmates had come into contact with others who had tested positive for Covid-19.
Judge Dinnah Usiko postponed the start of the trial to 28 September.
This also gives Panduleni Gotlieb's lawyer, Tjingairi Kaurivi, an opportunity to prepare for the trial.
Mastermind
Gotlieb (30) is said to have been the mastermind behind Möller's murder.
He faces charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery, possession of an unlicensed weapon and burglary. His co-accused are David Tashiya (29), Malakia Shiweda (28), David Shekundja (27) and Ally Ndapuka Hinaivali (29), who face the same charges.
They are allegedly responsible for an armed robbery on Möller and his family in Walvis Bay in June 2016.
During the incident, Möller was shot in the stomach and hospitalised. Days later, he succumbed to his injuries. Möller, the owner of Sun Sail Catamarans and a well-known personality in tourism circles, passed away in the Cottage Hospital in Swakopmund.
-Additional reporting by Nampa
[email protected]
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