Staff Reporter
LAWYERS have raised concerns that the fair trial rights of suspects implicated in the murder case of the late Control Prosecutor Justine Shiweda may be prejudiced, as the accused in the matter are barred from having access to telephones while being incarcerated, affecting their ability to speak to their preferred legal representatives.
The accused are said to be strictly barred from having access to telephonic communications from the prisons they are in. The instruction to restrict the accused in the matter from having access to telephonic contact is said to have come from the Regional Commander of the Otjozondjupa Region. The State, however, argued that it did not know of such happenings.
The attack on the late Control Prosecutor Shiweda, who was doused with highly corrosive acid and shot in the legs, is said to have been orchestrated from prison cells by police officer Matheus Abner, who tried to offer a bribe to the late Shiweda not to oppose his bail.
However, when the bribery did not work, it is alleged that Abner worked in cahoots with other accused in the matter to orchestrate the attack that led to the death of the control prosecutor.
Accused 1, Lukas Nekwiyu, known as Mane, is currently held at Oluno Correctional Facility. Accused 2, Matheus Abner, known as Cota Smith; Accused 3, Petrus Uusiku; Accused 5, Petrus Shikwaya, known as Kuxa; and Accused 6, Dr. Fillemon Nakanduungile, known as Fly, are all detained at Grootfontein Correctional Facility.
The matter was remanded to 8 April 2026 for the fixing of the bail application date of Petrus Shikwaya, accused five, and also to sort out the issue of telephonic access, which may impact the ability of the accused to access legal representation.
It is further alleged that, apart from the murder case of Shiweda, some of the accused in the matter, which include Dr. Fillemon Nakanduungile, known as Dr. Fly, Petrus Shikwaya, and Matheus Abner, among others, also appeared in relation to a fraud matter linked to Sanlam, in which there are said to be 12 accused persons. The matter relates to the accused allegedly working with Dr. Nakanduungile to alter medical records for a claim which resulted in N$1.9 million in fraud committed against Sanlam Namibia.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Namibian Correctional Service
