Kahatjipara's lawyer jumps ship

 WINDHOEKFAITH SANKWASA

The fraud case of former Miss Namibia Barbara Kahatjipara was postponed yesterday after her lawyer, Jan Wessels, withdrew from the matter.
The trial had initially been set down in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court for January, but was postponed because Kahatjipara was out of the country.
This resulted in the case only coming before the court yesterday. The case was postponed to August 23 so that Kahatjipara can obtain a new lawyer. A new trial date will also be fixed during the next court appearance.
The 1993 Miss Namibia winner is facing charges of allegedly defrauding the Namibian Employers Federation (NEF) of N$57 000.
Magistrate Hileni Kavara extended Kahatjipara's bail of N$5 000.
She was arrested in 2011 for allegedly diverting her then employer's money into her personal bank account.
During an earlier court appearance, Kahatjipara's lawyer told the court that she had paid back N$24 000 to NEF, who had also lodged a civil case against her in the Windhoek High Court.
In the civil case, NEF was claiming N$33 488 from Kahatjipara.
The company alleged that during her employment with them, Kahatjipara transferred money from a unit trust bank account to her personal bank account on June 3, 2010.