Windhoek High Court Judge Naomi Shivute yesterday convicted a 30-year-old farmworker accused of killing his employer with an axe and of kidnapping and raping the wife of the deceased, on all charges against him.
She convicted Kazana Nicolaus Hausiku of murder with direct intent, rape, kidnapping, robbery, driving without a licence and reckless and/or negligent driving – charges he pleaded not guilty to at the start of his trial.
It was alleged by the State that he killed his 56-year-old employer near Otjimbingwe in the Karibib district by hacking him on the head with an axe during the period 10 to 11 November 2018.
He allegedly threatened the wife of the farmer with a panga and raped her inside the farmhouse, whereafter he ransacked the farmhouse and loaded the stolen items onto a pick-up of the deceased, and forced the wife to accompany him. The State further alleges that while driving away from the farm, he overturned the vehicle between Otjimbingwe and Wilhelmstal.
He claimed during the trial that he acted in self-defence, and that the sexual intercourse was consensual. The judge, however, rejected his defence and said he did not meet the requirements for private defence, and that his version of consensual intercourse was not put to the complainant.
According to the judge, the only inference that can be drawn from the evidence presented is that Hausiku did not kill the deceased in self-defence, and his claim cannot be reasonably possibly true in the circumstances.
“The accused killed the deceased for reasons only known to him. By hacking the deceased with an axe at a vital part of his body, the accused evidently had direct intent to kill the deceased,” she found.
With regards to the other charges, the judge said although the wife of the deceased was a single witness, her testimony was clear and satisfactory in all material aspects. Although the accused disputed that he robbed the deceased and his wife, she considers this to be a mere denial.
The judge said: “The accused was found in possession of the couple’s property when he was apprehended.”
She reiterated that although the wife of the deceased is a single witness, she is satisfied that she told the truth.
“She gave her evidence in a straightforward manner and did not contradict herself in this regard.
The accused contradicted himself during his plea explanation, and when he testified. I find the accused’s evidence to be far-fetched, and I reject it as false under the circumstances. I am satisfied that the State proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The matter will return to court on 12 September at 10h00 for pre-sentencing procedures. Hausiku remains in custody at the section for trial-awaiting inmates at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
He is represented by Salomon Kanyemba on instructions of Legal Aid, and the State by Ethel Ndlovu.