Murder-accused parents to get trial dates
The case of a man and his wife who are accused of assaulting his daughter to death, burning her body and dumping it in a rubbish skip in Windhoek two years ago, is ready to proceed to trial.
State prosecutor Antonia Verhoef informed the High Court yesterday that the case is trial-ready, with the court to soon allocate trial dates.
Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula, (who was standing in for Judge Christie Liebenberg), postponed the case to 19 May so that the assigning judge can allocate dates to hear the matter.
The accused, Zimbabwean nationals Edward Nkata (39) and his wife Caroline Nkata (38), were remanded in police custody.
According to the prosecution, the couple tried to kill Edward’s 11-year-old son by hitting him with a belt and unknown object all over his body between 20 and 22 January 2020. However, he survived the ordeal.
Afterwards, between 23 and 25 January 2020, the Nkatas kicked and hit Edward’s daughter Akundaishe Natalie Chipomho (9) with unknown objects on her body and head until she became unconscious.
The couple then placed her in a plastic bucket, and waited for her to die. She later died due to blunt impact head injuries. The Nkatas afterwards went to a nearby service station, and bought paraffin and matches.
They then transported Chipomho’s remains in a wheelie bin to a municipal skip a distance away from their flat, where they dumped the body and set it alight. The Nkatas were spotted dragging a wheelie bin in the eastern direction of Ooievaar Street in the Rhino Park area around 21h00, and a witness felt it was suspicious because it was at night. They were also caught on a surveillance camera in the area.
After the incident, the couple took their minor children in an attempt to flee, but were arrested between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo.
The prosecution further alleges that the Nkatas defrauded the Progress Private School of N$6 000. It is alleged that Caroline indicated to the school where she was employed as a teacher that Chipomho and an 11-yearold minor were her biological children. Thus, the minor children were not required to pay school fees by virtue of her being an employee at the school.
The couple is also accused of forging school reports for the children.
The Nkatas are furthermore accused of overstaying in the country for seven months after their employment permits
had expired. During the accused’s first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court, Caroline, who admitted guilt, confessed her husband (Edward) beat Chipomho.
She was allegedly home when the victim was being beaten. After the child died from the assault, her husband forced her to help him dispose of the girl’s body in a rubbish skip. It was her testimony that he further forced her to accompany him to buy paraffin, dispose of the body, and set it alight.
According to court documents, at the time of Chipomho’s death, the couple was residing in a flat in Windhoek North, together with the victim’s biological mother, Rachael Kureva (39). Although Kureva was arrested alongside the Nkatas, she was later released as the prosecutor general decided not to prosecute her due to a lack of evidence.
The Nkatas are represented by Mbanga Siyomunji and Milton
Engelbrecht, respectively.