Windhoek High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku has convicted a 53-year-old man of murdering his former girlfriend during 2018 in Karibib. Petrus Jacobus du Plessis was also found guilty on all other charges he was facing. Du Plessis was charged with the murder of his former girlfriend, Beverly Kurangera, who was 26 years old at the time of her demise, by stabbing her at least seven times with a spear on 25 August 2018 at Old Location in Karibib. He also faced a charge of assault by threat by throwing a spear in the direction of the sister of the victim, Alma Garises, and/or threatening to stab her and the three-year old son of the deceased with the spear.
He was also charged with housebreaking with the intent to murder, and murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, as well as one count of assault by threat.
According to the indictment, Du Plessis broke into the hous of the deceased by kicking the door open before attacking the victim with a spear. Du Plessis denied the allegation, and instead accused the sister of the deceased of the brutal murder. According to him, he was not the one who stabbed the deceased, but that it was Garises. Du Plessis claimed it was she who stabbed the deceased while he held her as shield when Garises tried to stab him. Judge Usiku said she considered the version of Du Plessis, and found it to be so improbable that it could not be possibly true. She rejected his version as false beyond a reasonable doubt. The versions of the eyewitnesses were corroborated by each other, the judge said, although there were minor inconsistencies and differences. This, she said, is not uncommon as no witness testimony can be a carbon copy of the other. What is clear from the witness testimonies is that Du Plessis was at the residence of the deceased, that he was armed with a spear, and that he was in a physical confrontation with the deceased, the judge stated. She further said that his intention when he went to the residence of the deceased on that fateful night, armed with a spear, was to attack her. “It is clear that the accused was determined not to leave the deceased alive,” the judge said. “The force he used was clearly established by the post-mortem report, which showed at least seven deep stab wounds directed at vulnerable parts of the deceased’s body. One can just imagine the excruciating pain the deceased must have endured.” Usiku found that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Du Plessis is guilty of housebreaking with intent to murder, and murder with a direct intent, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act as well as assault by threat. The matter will return to court on 3 May for presentencing procedures, and Du Plessis remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial-awaiting inmates.
rrouth@nepc.com.na
Guilty as charged… Petrus Jacobus du Plessis
Photo: Roland Routh