Teodor Shipanga (49), a former security company employee on trial for murdering and robbing a colleague in November 2011, told the Windhoek High Court on 2 November that he is being prosecuted on false charges he has no knowledge of.
Shipanga, who is representing himself without a defence lawyer, read a handwritten statement before judge Eileen Rakow in which he claimed no police docket had ever been opened against him and that the prosecutor general had charged him on three false counts, The Namibian reported.
What is Shipanga accused of?
The state charges him with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating or obstructing the course of justice. Prosecutors allege he shot his colleague Shain van Wyk (22) in the head with a shotgun on 11 November 2011, while the two men were transporting cash from banks in northern Namibia to Windhoek.
He is further alleged to have stolen about N$2.5 million and the cash-in-transit vehicle from Van Wyk. The young man's body was found hidden in a culvert under the B1 road between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo, after the vehicle the two had travelled in was discovered abandoned and partly burnt in Katutura.
Claims of an unconstitutional trial
Shipanga's statement went well beyond a simple denial. He told the court the charges had been cancelled by a judge before whom he made a pretrial appearance, and that he has no case with the state or the Namibian Police at all.
He described his trial as unlawful and unconstitutional, and said state advocate Anna Amukugo, who is prosecuting the matter, must stop accusing him falsely and should be removed from the case.
Rakow recorded not guilty pleas on all three charges on his behalf in June, after Shipanga repeatedly protested that he was not charged and was being prosecuted unconstitutionally. He has been released on bail and remains free pending the outcome.
Witness describes the route and the silence that followed
The trial also heard testimony from Mina van Wyk, a former vault manager at the security company where Shipanga worked. She told the court she had set out the route that Shipanga and Shain van Wyk had to travel from Windhoek to Oshakati and back on 10 and 11 November 2011.
Before their departure, she said, a shotgun was issued to Shipanga, who was the driver of the vehicle, and a revolver was issued to Shain.
She recounted that when she tried to reach the two men by telephone on 11 November 2011, neither answered. Later that day a police officer called to say one of the company's vehicles was burning in the Ombili area of Katutura.
When she and a company manager went to the scene, a police officer informed her that a company uniform with Shipanga's identity card attached had been found near the vehicle. The shotgun issued to him the previous day was found inside the vehicle, she testified.
Accused disputes the facts of the trip
Shipanga told the court he was no longer employed by the company at that stage. In his statement he also denied making the trip from Windhoek to Oshakati and back on the days in question.
The contradiction between that denial and the witness testimony, including the identity card found beside the burnt vehicle, is likely to sit at the centre of the state's case as the trial continues.
Why this case matters
The trial revisits one of the more violent cash-in-transit episodes in Namibia's recent history, a robbery that ended with a 22-year-old dead and N$2.5 million gone. Cases that take 15 years to reach trial test the capacity and patience of the justice system, and this one does so while the accused insists the entire prosecution lacks a legal foundation.
Self-representation in a murder trial adds another layer of difficulty for the court. Rakow will have to weigh Shipanga's procedural objections against the state's evidence, and the outcome will show how the High Court handles a defendant who disputes not only the facts but the legitimacy of the proceedings themselves.
What happens next in the Shipanga trial?
When did the alleged murder take place?
The state alleges Shain van Wyk was killed on 11 November 2011, while transporting cash from northern Namibia to Windhoek with Shipanga.
What is Teodor Shipanga charged with?
He faces three counts: murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
Is Shipanga in custody?
No. He has been released on bail and is attending his trial while free.