Saak teen Jandré Dippenaar hervat

The murder trial against Jandré Dippenaar, accused of having caused the deaths of six people in a horror car crash on the Henties Bay to Swakopmund road on 29 December 2014 is set to resume next Wednesday (12 July) in the Swakopmund regional court.
Taking the witness stand will be German national Antonia Joschko, the sole survivor of her family of four. Joschko is set to relive the events of 29 December 2014, when she lost her father, mother and sister in the crash.
At the time, she was 16 years old. The collision, which was allegedly caused by Dippenaar, caused the death of her father Markus Walter Helmut Joschko, mother Stephanie Schermuck-Joschko and her sister Alexandra Marlene Joschko.
The Joschko family was travelling towards Swakopmund in a Ford Ranger pick-up when a head-on collision with a Toyota FJ Cruiser allegedly driven by Dippenaar took place. Of the four occupants in the FJ Cruiser, only Dippenaar survived. The three passengers in the FJ Cruiser died on the spot. They were JC Horn, Dinah Pretorius and Charlene Schoombee. He is facing various charges, including six counts of murder.
Since the beginning of this high-profile case, Antonia Joschko with her lawyer and other family members repeatedly had to travel to Namibia for the court case. She waited patiently to give her testimony.
When Joschko was finally called to give evidence during the trial in January this year, Dippenaar’s lawyer, advocate Louis Botes, objected.
Botes requested time to prepare for the witness and requested the case to be postponed to a later date. He said that an expert from Johannesburg is required to be present before Joschko could testify.
The case was therefore remanded to 12 July. It was set down for three days. After this, the trial will again be postponed to 20 November. Two weeks are set down for the continuation of the trial in November.
Dippenaar, who is out on a warning, is facing a count of reckless or negligent driving alternatively inconsiderate driving, a count of fraud alternatively furnishing false information, a count of not being in possession of a driver’s license and six counts of murder. It is the first time in Namibian history that a person is facing murder charges in connection with a fatal car accident.
Since the start of the trial, the family of members of the victims have been present in court throughout. It has been an emotional rollercoaster, as various eyewitnesses have up to date given testimony of what transpired on that fateful day. One witness testified that Dippenaar did overtake on a blind crest and in doing so caused the head-on collision.