Roland Routh
Windhoek-Mariental resident David Kid, 49, was yesterday sentenced to an effective 32 years in prison for the murder of his teenage stepdaughter in 2013.
Appearing in the Windhoek High Court before Acting Judge Boas Usiku, Kido was convicted of raping and then murdering Izelda Kock, 18, his teenage stepdaughter, during the period September 18 to 20, 2013, while they were alone at his house on farm Jakkalsfontein in the Mariental District.
He was sentenced to 30 years on the murder conviction, of which three years are suspended for five years on the usual conditions, 12 years for the rape conviction, five years for defeating or obstructing the course of justice and one year each for two convictions of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH).
The judge ordered seven years of the twelve years on the rape conviction, and the sentences on the defeating or obstructing the course of justice and the two assault GBH convictions, to run concurrently with the sentence on the murder conviction.
According to the indictment, after he raped the 18-year-old girl he killed her by hitting her with an unknown object on the head and thereafter buried her in a shallow grave.
He then reported the girl missing at the Mariental Police in order to defeat the course of justice, it is further alleged.
He was also convicted of two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. He beat the deceased and her sister, Sharon Kock, with a dropper pole during August of 2013.
Kido denied guilt on all charges at the start of his trial – except the count of defeating or attempting to defeat the course of justice.
During his testimony in mitigation Kido told the court that he is wheelchair-bound and needs help to get in and out of the chair. This evidence was however contradicted by prison authorities who testified that he uses both the wheelchair and crutches and is being held in a single cell.
While the judge found the medical and health condition of Kido is a factor in determining the sentence, he found that Kido’s lack of remorse is aggravating.
He said Kido was only paying lip service when he professed remorse in mitigation.
“I find the expression of remorse by the accused in mitigation of sentencing not credible, especially when viewed against the background of his adamant position that he did not commit murder or rape, in the face of overwhelming evidence against him. Little weight is therefore to be given to the expression of remorse in this matter,” Judge Usiku stated.
According to him, violence and abuse against women and children ravage the society at an alarming rate and many such cases involving such violence come before the court on a frequent basis. Many of such acts are committed within family structures and society expects the courts to impose sentences that suitably match the gravity and prevalence of the offences committed, the judge stressed. With regard to the murder, Judge Usiku said Kido had no justifiable reason for murdering the deceased.
“The senseless killing of the deceased by strangulation, and hitting her with a metal object on her head, robbed the deceased’s mother and the Namibian society of the joy of seeing her blossoming into maturity and becoming a productive member of society. It cannot be gainsaid that the deceased died a violent and brutal death. The impact of the deceased’s death on her mother, according to her evidence given in aggravation of sentence, was such that she received medical treatment for shock,” Judge Usiku said.
Kido was represented by Titus Mbaeva on instructions of legal aid and the State by Cliff Lutibezi from the Prosecutor General’s Office.