Dippenaar trial postponed
The murder trial of Jandré Dippenaar has been postponed for six months.
Following a heated debate in court after Jandré Dippenaar's counsel, Advocate Louis Botes objected in the strongest of terms against the state prosecutor Hezekiel Ipinge's request that Antonia Joschko, the other survivor of the horror crash in December 2014 testify in Swakopmund, the trial has been postponed to 12 July this year.
According to Botes, “The agreement between the state and the defence was that Joschko would only testify later. The defence is by no means ready to cross-examine the witness.”
Joschko, who resides in Germany, arrived to attend the trial.
“We tried to secure the presence of South African experts at the trial but it is not possible at this time and hence, we cannot cross-examine the witness,” Botes told Magistrate Gaynor Poulton in the Swakopmund Regional Court on Friday.
Magistrate Poulton subsequently postponed the matter and Joschko will testify between 12 and 14 July this year. Thereafter, the trial will continue on 20 November.
Earlier last week, an eyewitness to the accident, Ian Stevenson, testified in court that he was on his way to Henties Bay on that fateful afternoon of December 29. His wife and step-daughter were in another vehicle behind him.
“I continued to look in my rear- and sideview mirrors to see if they were still following me,” he told the court.
He testified that he saw a white FJ Cruiser, driven by Jandré Dippenaar, overtaking his wife and instead of making use of the space between his and her vehicle, he continued overtaking his vehicle too, and the three vehicles in front of him.
“My vehicle, a Volkswagen Amarok bakkie shook as he passed me at high speed. He continued to overtake three vehicles in front of me and then he disappeared over a rise,” Stevenson testified.
“Moments later I saw black smoke.”
He told the court when he arrived at the accident scene he told his wife to proceed to Henties Bay. Dippenaar and Antonia Joschko had both been taken out of their respective vehicles. He tried to assist members of the public to remove a young girl from the Ford Ranger bakkie. They turned the car over but could not reach her. The FJ Cruiser was burning at this point.
Dippenaar is charged with six counts of murder, reckless driving, driving without a driver's licence and fraud.
JESSICA BOTES
According to Botes, “The agreement between the state and the defence was that Joschko would only testify later. The defence is by no means ready to cross-examine the witness.”
Joschko, who resides in Germany, arrived to attend the trial.
“We tried to secure the presence of South African experts at the trial but it is not possible at this time and hence, we cannot cross-examine the witness,” Botes told Magistrate Gaynor Poulton in the Swakopmund Regional Court on Friday.
Magistrate Poulton subsequently postponed the matter and Joschko will testify between 12 and 14 July this year. Thereafter, the trial will continue on 20 November.
Earlier last week, an eyewitness to the accident, Ian Stevenson, testified in court that he was on his way to Henties Bay on that fateful afternoon of December 29. His wife and step-daughter were in another vehicle behind him.
“I continued to look in my rear- and sideview mirrors to see if they were still following me,” he told the court.
He testified that he saw a white FJ Cruiser, driven by Jandré Dippenaar, overtaking his wife and instead of making use of the space between his and her vehicle, he continued overtaking his vehicle too, and the three vehicles in front of him.
“My vehicle, a Volkswagen Amarok bakkie shook as he passed me at high speed. He continued to overtake three vehicles in front of me and then he disappeared over a rise,” Stevenson testified.
“Moments later I saw black smoke.”
He told the court when he arrived at the accident scene he told his wife to proceed to Henties Bay. Dippenaar and Antonia Joschko had both been taken out of their respective vehicles. He tried to assist members of the public to remove a young girl from the Ford Ranger bakkie. They turned the car over but could not reach her. The FJ Cruiser was burning at this point.
Dippenaar is charged with six counts of murder, reckless driving, driving without a driver's licence and fraud.
JESSICA BOTES
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