Dausab fires lawyer
Convicted murderer Andre Dausab has to find a new lawyer to represent him when he is sentenced.
Murder convict Andre Dausab has fired his state-sponsored lawyer just two months after he was found guilty of killing his student pastor girlfriend in Windhoek in February 2014.
The High Court yesterday accepted an application by the defence counsel to withdraw from the case after Dausab claimed that Brownell /Uirab had not represented him honestly and to the best of his ability.
/Uirab submitted that Dausab questioned his allegiance when he went to see him in custody for consultations to prepare for arguments in mitigation of sentence.
Dausab reportedly remarked that his lawyer was working for the government's Directorate of Legal Aid and receives his salary from the government.
Dausab also claimed /Uirab failed to properly challenge some crucial evidence presented by the prosecution during his trial.
Dausab was on 25 July found guilty of murder with direct intent to kill Motlamme Gotaone.
/Uirab told Judge Naomi Shivute that he was accused of hiding certain facts with the sole purpose of ensuring Dausab's conviction.
“I regard this as serious and it makes it impossible for me to act further in the defence of the accused,” he said.
Dausab, when asked whether he understood the implications of what was alleged by his lawyer, told the court that he was confused by what was happening but maintained that he wanted someone who could represent him on his instruction.
Dausab murdered Gotaone after she had decided to end their romantic relationship.
She was a trainee pastor at the Paulinum Theological College and died on 22 February 2014 after Dausab stabbed her 14 times with three knives.
Agakganatso Mommaesa, who works as a computer system analyst for the Botswana government, and who was the elder sister of the victim, told the court that she knew Dausab had a relationship with her sister. She added her sister had told her that she had ended the relationship.
“The deceased's younger daughter is still suffering from trauma and would sometimes ask, 'when shall I see my mother again' and this is even though she was told of her death and was even shown the coffin at that time,” Mommaesa testified.
“The crime shocked me. There was a time in the past that the deceased and accused had problems and that he would simply talk to me about it. For him to have decided to do what he did left us broken hearted,” she said.
Judge Shivute postponed the case to 6 November for Dausab to obtain a lawyer.
FRED GOEIEMAN
The High Court yesterday accepted an application by the defence counsel to withdraw from the case after Dausab claimed that Brownell /Uirab had not represented him honestly and to the best of his ability.
/Uirab submitted that Dausab questioned his allegiance when he went to see him in custody for consultations to prepare for arguments in mitigation of sentence.
Dausab reportedly remarked that his lawyer was working for the government's Directorate of Legal Aid and receives his salary from the government.
Dausab also claimed /Uirab failed to properly challenge some crucial evidence presented by the prosecution during his trial.
Dausab was on 25 July found guilty of murder with direct intent to kill Motlamme Gotaone.
/Uirab told Judge Naomi Shivute that he was accused of hiding certain facts with the sole purpose of ensuring Dausab's conviction.
“I regard this as serious and it makes it impossible for me to act further in the defence of the accused,” he said.
Dausab, when asked whether he understood the implications of what was alleged by his lawyer, told the court that he was confused by what was happening but maintained that he wanted someone who could represent him on his instruction.
Dausab murdered Gotaone after she had decided to end their romantic relationship.
She was a trainee pastor at the Paulinum Theological College and died on 22 February 2014 after Dausab stabbed her 14 times with three knives.
Agakganatso Mommaesa, who works as a computer system analyst for the Botswana government, and who was the elder sister of the victim, told the court that she knew Dausab had a relationship with her sister. She added her sister had told her that she had ended the relationship.
“The deceased's younger daughter is still suffering from trauma and would sometimes ask, 'when shall I see my mother again' and this is even though she was told of her death and was even shown the coffin at that time,” Mommaesa testified.
“The crime shocked me. There was a time in the past that the deceased and accused had problems and that he would simply talk to me about it. For him to have decided to do what he did left us broken hearted,” she said.
Judge Shivute postponed the case to 6 November for Dausab to obtain a lawyer.
FRED GOEIEMAN
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