Delay in double murder case dismays magistrate

A WINDHOEK−BASED magistrate on Friday expressed shock over the inaction that has followed a court order for the referral of double murder accused Lukas Nicodemus for psychiatric observation.

Since a magistrate ordered on 9 March that Nico­demus should go through a period of psychiatric observation, no further arrangements have been made to have him admitted to a hospital where his mental state would be examined, magistrate Gerrit van Pletzen was informed when Nicodemus made another appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Friday. Public prosecutor Ivann Tjizu told the magistrate that according to the police officer in charge of the investigation of Nicodemus’ case, he was still waiting for a referral letter from the court before arrangements could begin to be made for the psychiatric observation. “This is unacceptable”, magistrate Van Pletzen commented on hearing the update from Tjizu. He said he was shocked to find out that an order for Nicodemus’ referral for psychiatric observation had not even been signed yet, and that the court had wrongly been informed previously that Nicodemus was only waiting for a place to become available in the psychiatric unit of the Windhoek Central Hospital. Nicodemus (46) is charged with the killing of two women whose burnt remains were found at a dump site in Windhoek four months ago. He was arrested on 7 January – the same day that the burnt bodies of Johanie Naruses (29) and Clemensia de Wee (23) were discovered at a dump site to the west of Pionierspark in Windhoek.