Samuel Shinedima
TWO siblings, Azaan Madisia and Steven Mulundu who stand accused of having conspired in the tragic death of Shannon Wasserfall in 2020, will hear their fate in two months’ time.
This is after their trial concluded on Monday morning in the High court of Namibia, with both the accused persons having only pleaded guilty to the count of trying to defeat the course of justice, by disposing of Wasserfall’s remains in the dunes.
Arguing during the submission of the heads of arguments, defense Lawyer Albert Titus told the court that the state failed to provide or establish evidence that the deceased was indeed intentionally murdered by the accused, adding that the only evidence provided before court was the accused’s witness statement that indicated that the deceased fell and became unconscious after they pushed each other.
“As I stated in my submission, there are no verified facts in this matter and one can not be convicted where there are no facts,” said Titus.
Titus further told the court that criminal matters must not be adjudicated on speculations, adding that the state is merely speculating that the accused killed the deceased, while there was no cause of death established, on which the court could rely on to make a fair ruling.
He added that his client rightfully testified that the fear of being arrested took over and that all the actions taken by her were purely driven by that fear, especially of being linked to the death of the deceased, given that she died at her flat and she was the only one present.
“I pray that the accused only be convicted of negligence for failing to call the ambulance or failing to report the matter to the police after realizing that the deceased was unconscious and could not move but not for murder. If the court finds the push to be unlawful, then I submit that the court convict her for assault,” Titus added.
Public Prosecutor, Henry Muhongo submitted that the version of the accused person should not be accepted by the court as she was the only one at the incident, adding that such a version was only from her and that it was not corroborated by any other witness statement in order for such a statement to be off assistance to the court.
“The accused person admitted in her testimony that she told her brother upon his arrival at the flat that she had done something wrong, and the only wrong thing that was observed there was the death of the deceased,”Muhongo said.
The two siblings whose trial just concluded, were tried on charges of murder, robbery or alternatively theft for allegedly taking custody of the deceased’s properties after burying her in a shallow grave, as well as for trying to defeat the ends of justice as they disposed of the victim’s body in the dunes.
The judgement will be delivered on 16 May 2023 by High court Judge Christie Liebenberg.
