AFRICA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM OFFICE OF JUDGE AND LAWYERallAfrica.com: Namibia: Heathcote Office Burgled
Heathcote Office Burgled
New Era (Windhoek)

September 14, 2005
Posted to the web September 14, 2005

Surihe Gaomas
Windhoek

THE offices of Acting High Court Judge Raymond Heathcote and top lawyer Andrew Corbett, both of whom were part of the high profile Avid Inquiry, were broken into over the weekend.

Dismay was the norm in the chambers of Namibian's most top advocates yesterday morning and remained like that for the latter part of the day when it emerged burglars had broken into the offices of the judge.

The latest break-in occurred on Sunday evening when the fourth floor of the Namlex Chambers in Independence Avenue, which houses the office of Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote and Advocate Andrew Corbett, was broken into and goods were stolen.

The break-in according to the Namibian police took place around 22h00 late Sunday evening.

Some staff members only discovered the incident yesterday morning.

The theft resulted in the loss of a laptop and two desktop computers, which could possibly be carrying vital High Court data on the recent Avid Investment and Social Security Commission High Court inquiry.

When New Era arrived at the scene yesterday, the gaping roof-top on the fourth floor was clearly visible in the "Society of Advocates of Namibia" section of the building, where construction workers were busy fixing the roof area. Earlier that day, forensic experts were also said to have been there to look at the evidence and to collect fingerprints around the area of Acting Judge Heathcote's chambers, that of Advocate Chris Mouton and that of Advocate Andrew Corbett, which are situated just adjacent to each other. A laptop and some N$200 000 were stolen from Heathcote's office, while two computer screens and two cheque books went missing in other offices on the same floor.

According to the Namibian Police, the culprits may have gained entrance through the front glass door, which was not locked.

"When the suspects entered the building, they entered through the glass door which was not locked. They went through the top, breaking into several offices through the roof," said Warrant Officer James Matengu.

Police also indicate that while some office doors were forced open on the fourth floor, the suspects who are believed to have been more than one could have entered through the gaping roof made from carbon fibre.

Matengu added that the police have now opened a criminal case of housebreaking and theft. However, it is difficult to say whether or not the theft is related to the Avid/SSC case as such information normally only comes after the arrest and questioning of suspects.

None of the staff knew how the office was broken into, leaving the security guards clueless as to how the culprits may have passed through the two glass doors of the reception area.

When asked, none of the two Marine Security Service officers who report for duty at 19h00 every evening at the Namlex building knew how the incident happened.

When approached, Advocate Corbett told New Era that he was aware of the break-in but was not aware of material that he may have lost, "because I did not have a chance to look through my office material yet".

This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred in the Namlex building, as a similar incident took place last year. In that incident, Advocate Corbett lost his computer.

Acting Judge Heathcote could not be reached for comment in this regard.

Police investigations continue as the search for suspects got underway yesterday.