Iuze Mukube
Advocate Basson Lilungwe, representing the State, has urged the court to impose a 25-year prison sentence on a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend, by stabbing her once in the chest with a knife.
Abraham Maasdorp stands convicted for intentionally killing his girlfriend, Magda van Wyk (20) on 2 August 2019.
The 35-year-old is also charged with a count of defeating the course of justice for allegedly disposing of the knife he used to stab the deceased.
During pre-sentencing proceedings on 6 June 2025, Lilungwe labelled the murder as reckless, pointing out also the accused’s apparent lack of remorse.
He argued that even though it was reckless, it was still murder nonetheless, as it resulted in the loss of two lives, that of the woman and a five-year old child will grow up without a mother.
Maasdorp stabbed his girlfriend in the chest with a knife once, an act which led to her tragic death 11 days later in a hospital.
The accused, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, claimed that Van Wyk lost her life because of negligence by the medical staff.
During his conviction, it was noted that the deceased was stabbed on 2 August 2019 but was only taken to the clinic the next day, and it was stressed that the accused downplayed the stabbing of the deceased, claiming it was no one’s business but theirs.
Lilungwe submitted that the brutality of the crime, combined with the vulnerability of the victim, warrants a severe sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offence and deter similar acts in society.
In arguing for a lengthy sentence, he highlighted the need to protect women from gender-based violence and to send a clear message that such acts will be met with firm consequences.
Lilungwe suggested a sentence of 25 years on a murder count and five years on defeating the course of justice.
The State submitted that he sentences should run consecutively one after the other.
The accused’s defence lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji pleaded for the court to consider a lesser sentence, arguing with provisions of case laws that punishment must fit the criminal as well as the crime, to be fair to society and be blended with a measure of mercy according to the circumstances.
Siyomunji highlighted the personal circumstances of his client, noting that the 35-year-old is unmarried, has a 12-year-old daughter who resides with her mother and was unemployed at the time of his arrest.
Due to challenges of money, the accused was unable to travel from the Omaheke region to Windhoek for his court proceedings, which resulted in the forfeiture of his bail. From the time of his arrest until 15 March 2022 when he was granted bail, he spent three years in pre-trial incarceration.
Siyomunji further informed the court that the accused had never been to formal school and that both his parents were deceased.
He proposed a sentence of 20 years imprisonment for the murder charge and an additional two years for defeating the course of justice, with the latter sentence to run concurrently with the sentence for murder.
The sentencing is expected to be delivered by Judge Dinnah Usiku on 18 July 2025.