Placido Hilukilwa
LUIS Charles Araujo de Sá, a 59-year-old medical doctor from Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, who faces multiple charges following a horrific motor accident that claimed the lives of nine people near Otavi recently, was granted bail of N$150,000 when he appeared in the Otavi Magistrate’s Court this morning.
He faces charges of culpable homicide and reckless or negligent and inconsiderate driving. The accident, in which nine people perished, including the accused’s wife Natale Gontijo, happened when the accused’s white Toyota station wagon collided head-on with an oncoming 7-seater. Charles de Sá was the only survivor.
Natale Gontijo was a plastic surgeon based in Verona, Italy, and had joined her spouse for a travel across Africa. Charles de Sá was quoted by the Brazilian media shortly after the couple arrived in Namibia, saying: “We are going to cross Africa in a SUV 4×4. Only the two of us. Without a guide. We will pass through various parks and reserves, contemplating the primitive nature and its rules (…) very happy to have realized this old dream [of mine].”
His case was postponed to the 25th of July. The conditions imposed on him include that he not leave the country and must hand in his passport.
