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Psychologist says Dippenaar not faking amnesia


FORENSIC psychologist Dr Stefanie Badenhorst yesterday told Swakopmund regional magistrate Gaynor Poulton that Jandre Dippenaar (39), who is accused of the murder of six people who died in a car crash in 2014, cannot fake the fact that he has no memory of the accident.

Besides the murder charges, Dippenaar is also being accused of reckless or negligent driving, and driving without a valid driving licence.

This relates to an accident on 29 December 2014, in which Dippenaar’s FJ Cruiser, carrying three passengers (Gobabis resident Dinah Pretorius and Windhoek residents Charlene Schoombee and JC Horn), collided head-on with a Ford Ranger occupied by German tourists Markus Joschko, his wife Stephanie Joschko, and their daughters Alexandra Joschko and Antonia Joschko (then aged 16).

Dippenaar and Antonia were the only survivors of the accident.

During his defence testimony last month, Dippenaar maintained his innocence and said he had no recollection of the accident.

“We drove to Henties Bay, and then the accident happened. The next time I can remember is being in a hospital bed,” he told the court.

According to Badenhorst, Dippenaar suffered multiple physical injuries, including a brain injury. As a result, he spent 21 days in hospital, eight of those days in a medically-induced coma.

Following the injury, the news that six people were killed devastated him, resulting in further emotional trauma. He said he felt he failed in his responsibility to get his three friends safely to their destination, while also feeling remorse for the loss of the Joschko’s lives.

Badenhorst said a comprehensive series of tests were performed on Dippenaar in September 2019, at the request of his legal representatives, which include Louis Botes and Petrie Theron, to evaluate his personality profile, and the possible reason for his loss of memory surrounding the event.

The results of the tests indicate that Dippenaar indeed suffered from amnesia, which can be attributed to the “great deal” of physical injuries (especially to the head and brain), and emotional trauma he suffered.

“These – either, or – are important aspects that can result in loss of memory. Amnesia is possible because of the shock which releases cortisone (hormone) in the brain that can cause amnesia,” she said.

Questioned by the defence counsel on whether such amnesia could be “malingered” (to feign it to escape accountability), Badenhorst said that malingering can be ruled out because of the physical injury incurred on the brain.

“His memory loss is unconscious; it is not intentional. Some tests cannot be faked or manipulated because they deal with the unconscious, and this increases the reliability and validity of the results,” she said.





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