Convicted murderer Jandré Dippenaar has launched a renewed attempt to overturn his conviction, escalating his legal battle to the Supreme Court after his appeal was dismissed by the High Court.
Dippenaar is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence following a fatal road collision in 2014. In newly filed 98-page court documents, he argues that key evidence used to convict him was fundamentally misinterpreted, pointing to what he describes as significant inconsistencies in the State’s case. At the heart of his application is the claim that the High Court failed to properly reconcile expert accident reconstruction evidence with eyewitness testimony.
He contends that this led to conflicting conclusions which, if reassessed, could result in a different outcome in another court. He was sentenced in August 2024 in the Swakopmund Regional Court by Regional Magistrate Gaynor Poulton to 15 years’ imprisonment on each of six counts of murder, along with a fine of N$8 000 or two years’ imprisonment for reckless driving. In his application for leave to appeal, Dippenaar criticises what he calls “speculations, mere theories or hypothetical propositions” relied upon by the State. He argues that objective physical evidence, including tyre marks and the final positions of the vehicles, suggests an alternative version of events, particularly regarding the point of impact.
The High Court, however, upheld his conviction in December last year, confirming findings of murder based on dolus eventualis, as well as reckless driving. The case has been complicated by the absence of direct testimony from the drivers involved. The driver of the other vehicle died in the crash, while Dippenaar suffers from amnesia and has been unable to provide his own account. As a result, the trial relied heavily on eyewitnesses and expert reconstruction. State prosecutor Ethel Ndlovu opposes the appeal, maintaining that the evidence was properly evaluated. The State argues Dippenaar drove recklessly, overtaking in unsafe conditions, and that multiple witnesses observed dangerous behaviour. The collision occurred on 29 December 2014 between Swakopmund and Hentiesbaai, claiming the lives of Charlene Schoonbee, Dinah Pretorius and Jan Carel (‘JC’) Horn and a German family of four (Markus Joschko, his wife, Stephanie Joschko, and their daughters, Alexandra Joschko and Antonia Joschko). Dippenaar and Antonia Joschko were the only survivors. Judgment in the Supreme Court matter is expected on 5 June.
By Rudi Bowe
