Iuze Mukube

There no direct evidence tying murder accused Quanito van Vuuren to the death of former bank manager Vernon John Gavin (53) on 30 December 2023 in Walvis Bay.

This is according to the accused’s lawyer, Albert Titus, during the cross-examination of State witness senior inspector John Geiseb of the Serious Crime Unit in Walvis Bay.

He argued that Geiseb, as the investigating officer at the time, relied on speculation to assume that since Van Vuuren was accompanying the deceased at the time, he had to have allegedly killed and assaulted Gavin.

He submitted that the only evidence against his client is that Van Vuuren sold the cellphone, which the accused conceded he stole after seeing the deceased lying unconscious on the ground.

He also contended that the accused only went to the house of the deceased after he was invited to drink beer and that Van Vuuren had no intention or thoughts of harming the deceased.

Titus further argued that there is no eyewitness who can directly identify his client as the one who committed the acts that allegedly resulted in the unfortunate death. He questioned whether there was a possibility that someone else could have committed the offence apart from the accused.

This since the investigating officer stated that the act of tying up the deceased should not have been committed by a sole person but that the two accused acted in common purpose to overpower the deceased.

Van Vuuren stated that he was drinking beer in the sitting room during the incident while the deceased was in another room with his co-accused when he heard a commotion.

The accused further submitted that he did not harm the deceased in any way and that he only stole the cellphone later.

Titus argued further there is no DNA evidence linking his client to the cloth that was allegedly found stuffed into the deceased’s mouth or to the rope used to tie his ankles.

Further, no forensic testing was conducted on those items to determine whether they contained DNA belonging to either accused, the lawyer said.

Titus questioned also why Geiseb did not arrange forensic testing of those items, as was done with the rectal swap taken from the deceased, as part of the investigation into the alleged rape.

He further pointed out that the samples supposedly taken from the deceased’s underwear did not yield DNA matching either of the accused.

Geiseb on this could not dispute the contrary. The matter continues in the High Court.

Van Vuuren, alongside his co-accused Moses Sam, faces charges including murder, two counts of rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The State alleges that Gavin was at his Walvis Bay residence on 30 December 2023, in the company of the accused persons, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.  The State alleges that the accused persons overpowered the deceased and each took turns to rape him and that they killed him by pushing a piece of cloth deep into his throat, causing the deceased to die on the scene due to suffocation. It further alleges that the accused robbed the deceased of his property and acted in common purpose throughout the commission of the offences.

Sam is represented by Milton Engelbrecht and the State by Beata Hamunyela. 

–imukube@nepc.com.na

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