Admissions ruled out as evidence in Walvis Bay murder trial

The state will not be allowed to use evidence of oral admissions allegedly made by two men charged with robbing and murdering a Walvis Bay resident in his home in December 2023 in the two accused men’s trial.

Judge Philanda Christiaan declared the alleged oral statements inadmissible as evidence in the trial of Quanito van Vuuren (28) and Sem Moses (23) in a ruling delivered in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.

Christiaan found that the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Van Vuuren and Moses had been informed of their constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to have legal representation, before they made the alleged admissions to a police detective at Walvis Bay Police Station on 31 December 2023.

She also found that the versions of the two accused, who claimed their rights were not explained to them before they were questioned at the police station, could not be rejected as false beyond reasonable doubt, and that the state has failed to prove that their alleged admissions were made freely and voluntarily.