Africa-Press – Namibia. THE state is still struggling to obtain the DNA report for Shannon Wasserfall’s murder case in which Azaan Madisia and her brother Steven Mulundu are the main accused.
Magistrate Vicky Nicolaidis last week said the case has been on the court roll for over a year and should have been prioritised. “Given the fact that especially accused no 1 [Madisia] has been incarcerated for that long, and taking into account that the court will not be participating in compromising the constitutional rights of the accused person, I am inclined to acquiesce to the defence,” she said.
She remanded the matter to 16 May for a decision by the prosecutor general. Madisia and Mulundu have been in police custody for 17 months. The case has been postponed on several occasions – in some instances because the accused’s lawyers could not attend court proceedings, or because public prosecutor Maggy Shiyagaya-Lotho asked for more time for investigations to be concluded.
During a court appearance last week, Shiyagaya-Lotho said the involved laboratory provided reasons for the non-availability of the DNA report. She told the court a copy of the laboratory’s letter would be made available to the defence council.
Meanwhile, Mulundu’s lawyer, Tanya Klazen, told the court her client is faced with challenges at the police station where he is detained. According to Klazen, her client, who suffers health complications, is being ignored and his complaint is not attended to.
“He has medical issues, suffers from a heart condition, and is asthmatic. He requires to be taken to a hospital or clinic. This is not being attended to, and he is not being taken to hospital despite his request,” Klazen said.
She said her client has asked to be transferred to a correctional facility. Madisia and Mulundu have attempted to apply for bail in the past, but have abandoned their application at the last minute.
Wasserfall’s decomposed body was discovered in a shallow grave in the dunes near Dunes Mall at Walvis Bay in October 2020, six months after she was reported missing.
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