Staff Reporter
THE trial of the two men accused of the murder of the elderly couple, Armin Siegfried Riedel (68) and his wife, Brunhild Riedel (66), on farm Grunfeld in the Gobabis district continued in the Windhoek High Court, where evidence was presented regarding a pistol stolen from the murdered couple and allegedly sold by one of the accused men.
The two accused, Bernadus Afrikaner (35) and Satathiel Unaeb (47), former farm workers of the deceased couple, allegedly murdered the Riedels in January 2018, and thereafter burned their house down with their bodies inside. It is alleged that the two murdered Brunhild outdoors in an undisclosed fashion before fatally shooting Armin in the head. Following the plundering of the house and theft of various items, they proceeded to set the dwelling ablaze. The accused allegedly stole various properties including a pistol, knives, bedding, and a washing basin.
State witnesses, Elvis Eiseb and Stephanus Gawaxab, who are also farm workers and knew the accused, provided details in their testimonies on how accused one, Bernadus Afrikaner, also known as “Damab,” allegedly sold the pistol stolen from the deceased couple.
Eiseb recounted that in February 2018, he was approached by two police officers, Jantjies and Van Wyk, who questioned him about a stock theft case and shoe prints left behind at the scene. Eiseb added that the prints belonged to boots which he had borrowed to the accused Afrikaner. Eiseb testified that upon instruction from police, he embarked on getting his shoes back from Afrikaner. “On 16th February 2018, I travelled to Gobabis from the farm on which I worked. The police officers showed me the home where “Damab,” accused one’s brother and in-laws stayed. That Friday afternoon when I ran into Afrikaner, I asked for my shoes. He informed me that the shoes were at another lady’s place. I left him,” Eiseb testified.
He added that he went back the next day to Afrikaner’s house, and that he, Afrikaner, jumped up and said let’s go look for your shoes. The state witness, however, added that whilst they were walking, Afrikaner informed him that he could not give him back the shoes as he had done something with them, and that he would pay him for the shoes after he sold a pistol. Eiseb added that he accompanied the accused to his in-laws’ house, where he came out with a heavy object tucked underneath his vest, on the front part of his pants, on his waistline. He added that although he could not see the pistol, he could make out its outline underneath the tight white vest, which had holes.
Eiseb said that eventually, they ran into an Aawambo man, identified as Simon, who would later purchase the gun. Eiseb, however, added that he was unable to retrieve the money the accused owed him for his shoes, but that he informed the police of the gun which the accused Afrikaner sold, as he believed that it may have been stolen from the deceased Riedel couple.
Also giving testimony, Stephanus Gawaxab corroborated this account, adding that he had been asked by the accused Afrikaner to help find a buyer for a gun. He added that he, his brother, Hendrick Gawaxab, and a man only identified as Gabriel found the buyer, Simon, whom they told the price of the gun was N$ 1700. Gawaxab recounted how he saw the accused, Afrikaner, showing Simon the gun.
He added that after the sale of the gun, the accused Afrikaner, Simon, and his brother Hendrick were all cornered by the police and arrested at a shebeen, following a tip-off by the first witness, Eiseb.
