A 31-year-old man who killed his then 19-year-old girlfriend by stabbing her 51 times with a knife was sentenced to an effective jail term of 33 years on Friday by Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen. 

The judge sentenced Lolo Tweumona Kambwela to 33 years on the murder charge and a further three years on a conviction of attempting to defeat the course of justice to run concurrently. 

He was convicted of murdering Nghimushima Haufiku, with whom he was in an intimate relationship. 

According to the State, Kambwela went to the shack of the deceased during the evening hours of Sunday, 13 February 2022, and an argument erupted between them. 

He stabbed her at least 51 times with a knife, causing her to die due to hypovolemic shock because of blood loss caused by the  stab wounds to her chest. 

He then took the knife and a cell phone and locked the deceased’s body inside the shack with a padlock and threw away the key to the padlock and the knife, in what the court concluded was to frustrate the police in their investigations into the death of the deceased. He reported himself later that night to the police but denied guilt at the start of his trial. 

Judge Claasen said the death of another human being is always serious because of the irrevocable consequence of the loss of life for the dependents and the family of the deceased. 

In this instance, she said, the quality of life of a minor child of five years, has been abruptly uprooted and must now traverse life’s journey without a mother. 

“The evidence has proven that the deceased met her death in an utterly ferocious manner. 

The observations in the post-mortem and photos taken at the autopsy depict that the deceased was stabbed 51 times, and many of the wounds were recorded as defensive wounds, which means that the deceased faced an intense struggle as she tried to ward off the attack. 

“Needless to say, she was no match for the wrath of her boyfriend,” Judge Claasen stressed. 

The judge agreed with the sentiments of the State that the killing of women by their intimate partners is a betrayal of trust. 

Killing should not become the means of resolving interpersonal relationships, the judge reiterated. 

She further said that Kambwela has not personally expressed contrition, and the apology by his legal representative has a hollow sound to it. 

“As the only other person in the room at the time of her death, the accused elected not to take the court into his confidence and say what had led him to become overwhelmed by anger. 

Incidentally, the judge said, his silence may well be indicative of the fact that the accused knows there is no justification for what he did. 

Whilst the court has given due consideration to extenuating factors herein, it must be said that the gravity of the offence and the legitimate interests of society by far outweigh the personal circumstances of the accused,” Judge Claasen said, and continued that a substantial custodial sentence is unavoidable. 

“Perpetrators of horrendous crimes such as this one must be met with the full rigour of the law,” the judge concluded. 

Kambwela was represented by Legal Aid lawyer Kenneth Siambango and the State by Anna Amukugo. 

-rrouth@nepc.com.na