Where is Luis?
Police evasive on Brazilian driver's whereabouts
Police are refusing to confirm whether the Brazilian doctor, who has been charged in connection with an accident that killed nine people in June, is still in the country.
Police yesterday refused to confirm whether a Brazilian medical doctor, who was charged in connection with a road accident that killed nine people near Otavi in June, is still in the country after he was granted bail of N$150 000 and was ordered to surrender his passport to the investigating officer.
Dr Luis Charles Araujo de Sá (59) was the sole survivor of the accident that claimed the lives of his wife Dr Natale Gontijo-de-Amorim as well as eight Namibians, whose families are now suspecting that the surgeon might have skipped the country.
He was charged with culpable homicide and reckless, negligent or careless driving after he allegedly tried to overtake another vehicle and crashed into a seven-seater vehicle, killing its eight occupants.
Magistrate Ounjandere Ndjiharine eventually granted De Sá bail of N$150 000, and ordered him to remain in Namibia until his case was finalised.
However, as part of the bail conditions, the magistrate told De Sá if he needed to go abroad on medical grounds, he was free to do so as long as he provided details of his appointment to the Namibian Police. This condition was criticised by the families of the Namibian victims, who charged that De Sá could easily flee the country to avoid prosecution.
Tight-lipped
Otjozondjupa police regional commander, Commissioner Phillip Hidengwa, said he has only recently assumed duty in the region and has no information on the matter. He referred Namibian Sun to his junior officers, who refused to confirm whether De Sá was still in the country.
Similarly, attempts to get confirmation in this regard from the local Brazilian embassy proved futile.
De Sá’s privately-hired lawyer Florian Beukes yesterday said he was not at liberty to disclose his client’s whereabouts. “I cannot disclose that information,” he said, adding that he would need instructions from his client on Namibian Sun's questions.
It remains to be seen whether De Sá will honour his next scheduled court appearance on 4 December. Beukes asserted that his client will be present in court on the day.
Dream turns into nightmare
De Sá and his wife were driving a Toyota Fortuner when he allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle before crashing into a seven-seater. Following the crash, during which he sustained back injuries, he was detained at the Medi-Clinic private hospital in Otjiwarongo under police guard.
Gontijo-de-Amorim was a plastic surgeon based in Verona, Italy, who had joined her husband on a journey across Africa. Shortly after the couple arrived in Namibia, De Sá was quoted by Brazilian media as saying: "We are going to cross Africa in an SUV 4x4. Just the two of us. Without a guide. We will pass through various parks and reserves, contemplating the primitive nature and its rules... very happy to have realised this old dream [of mine]”.
Dippenaar template
In August this year, Namibian national Jandre Dippenaar was sentenced to 15 years in prison on six counts of murder in connection with a fatal road collision he was involved in December 2014.
He was found guilty of overtaking vehicles at high speed on a blind rise near Henties Bay, in a manoeuvre that led to a head-on collision with another vehicle. The crash resulted in the deaths of three passengers in Dippenaar’s car and three members of a visiting German family.
Dippenaar’s case is the first in Namibia’s legal history in which a road accident has led to a murder conviction, rather than culpable homicide, The Namibian reported.
Dr Luis Charles Araujo de Sá (59) was the sole survivor of the accident that claimed the lives of his wife Dr Natale Gontijo-de-Amorim as well as eight Namibians, whose families are now suspecting that the surgeon might have skipped the country.
He was charged with culpable homicide and reckless, negligent or careless driving after he allegedly tried to overtake another vehicle and crashed into a seven-seater vehicle, killing its eight occupants.
Magistrate Ounjandere Ndjiharine eventually granted De Sá bail of N$150 000, and ordered him to remain in Namibia until his case was finalised.
However, as part of the bail conditions, the magistrate told De Sá if he needed to go abroad on medical grounds, he was free to do so as long as he provided details of his appointment to the Namibian Police. This condition was criticised by the families of the Namibian victims, who charged that De Sá could easily flee the country to avoid prosecution.
Tight-lipped
Otjozondjupa police regional commander, Commissioner Phillip Hidengwa, said he has only recently assumed duty in the region and has no information on the matter. He referred Namibian Sun to his junior officers, who refused to confirm whether De Sá was still in the country.
Similarly, attempts to get confirmation in this regard from the local Brazilian embassy proved futile.
De Sá’s privately-hired lawyer Florian Beukes yesterday said he was not at liberty to disclose his client’s whereabouts. “I cannot disclose that information,” he said, adding that he would need instructions from his client on Namibian Sun's questions.
It remains to be seen whether De Sá will honour his next scheduled court appearance on 4 December. Beukes asserted that his client will be present in court on the day.
Dream turns into nightmare
De Sá and his wife were driving a Toyota Fortuner when he allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle before crashing into a seven-seater. Following the crash, during which he sustained back injuries, he was detained at the Medi-Clinic private hospital in Otjiwarongo under police guard.
Gontijo-de-Amorim was a plastic surgeon based in Verona, Italy, who had joined her husband on a journey across Africa. Shortly after the couple arrived in Namibia, De Sá was quoted by Brazilian media as saying: "We are going to cross Africa in an SUV 4x4. Just the two of us. Without a guide. We will pass through various parks and reserves, contemplating the primitive nature and its rules... very happy to have realised this old dream [of mine]”.
Dippenaar template
In August this year, Namibian national Jandre Dippenaar was sentenced to 15 years in prison on six counts of murder in connection with a fatal road collision he was involved in December 2014.
He was found guilty of overtaking vehicles at high speed on a blind rise near Henties Bay, in a manoeuvre that led to a head-on collision with another vehicle. The crash resulted in the deaths of three passengers in Dippenaar’s car and three members of a visiting German family.
Dippenaar’s case is the first in Namibia’s legal history in which a road accident has led to a murder conviction, rather than culpable homicide, The Namibian reported.
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