An application for leave to appeal by Gavin Beukes, one of the two brothers convicted of the Kareeboomvloer massacre in the vicinity of Kalkrand in 2005, has been struck from the roll by the High Court.
The court refused to condone his late filing of the application and ruled that he had no prospect of success on appeal.
Gavin and his brother Sylvester Beukes were convicted and sentenced in 2011 for the murders of eight people.
Gavin had wanted to appeal his conviction and effective 84-year sentence.
He argued in his court papers that the presiding judge had erred and misdirected himself in finding that he had acted in common purpose with his brother.
The trial court had accepted the evidence of forensic scientist Dr Paul Ludik that there was enough opportunity for Gavin to disassociate himself from the crimes, but did not do so.
Gavin had argued that leave to appeal should be granted, because another court may come to a different conclusion.
However, Judge President Petrus Damaseb yesterday struck his application from the roll, after refusing to condone the late filing.
He further ruled that there was no prospect of success on appeal.
According to Damaseb, the trial court did not err or misdirect itself in its judgement, as it came to a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence before it.
Gavin and his younger brother Sylvester were sentenced to a combined 189 years in November 2011.
Sylvester received an effective 105-year sentence, while Gavin was sentenced to an effective 84 years in prison. They were both convicted on eight murder charges, housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery, robbery with aggravating circumstances, defeating or obstructing the course of justice, arson and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The murders - regarded as the biggest bloodbath in Namibian criminal history - took place on March 5, 2005 at the farm Kareeboomvloer situated between Kalkrand and Rehoboth.
Those murdered included farm owners Justus and Elzabé Erasmus, their employee Sunnyboy Swartbooi, his wife Hilma Engelbrecht and their two daughters - Christina, 6, and Regina, 4.
Engelbrecht was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. They also killed Deon Gertze, 18, and Settie Swartbooi.
They first killed the owners of the farm and then all the potential witnesses - setting five of them on fire using diesel.
Four of the victims were still alive when they were set on fire. The murderers then stole the farm bakkie, loaded it with rifles and goats and hid the loot at Stoney Raymond Neidel’s house in Rehoboth and on his farm, situated west of Rehoboth.
Neidel was sentenced to an effective six-year jail term for theft.
He was initially sentenced to ten years, but four years of the sentence were conditionally suspended.
A further four-year sentence for the illegal possession of firearms was ordered to run concurrently.
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