Maria Amakali
Windhoek-A 21-year-old young man who stands accused of stabbing his friend to death with a knife was found guilty of murder by the court.
Bonya Mutumburua has been on trial for two years for his involvement in the death of his long-time friend Joseph Nashitope.
Although his defence counsel had tried to convince the court that Nashitope’s death was simply a result of self-defence on the part of Mutumburua, the court found that Mutumburua intentionally stabbed his friend to death on October 5, 2013.
Mutumburua who was a teenager at the time of the incident, is said to have intentionally stabbed the victim after a tussle they had.
“Though the accused was very young at the time of committing the offence, he was not too young not to have known that a knife is a dangerous weapon, and if he stabs anyone at such a sensitive part of the body, he may end up killing him,” explained the magistrate Elina Nandago before passing judgement.
Witnesses who took the stand to testify during the trial informed the court that the deceased and Mutumburua were involved in a fistfight on the day in question. They informed the court that after the fighting had ceased Mutumburua went into the house and came out with a panga, but went back in to get a knife instead.
Allegedly the deceased fled the scene the moment he saw Mutumburua with a knife in his hands. Although the deceased was running to get away, Mutumburua caught up with him and stabbed him on the right side of his chest. After the ordeal Mutumburua fled the scene leaving his friend heavily bleeding.
However, Mutumburua’s version of events was completely different from that of witnesses.
In his defence, he was allegedly attacked by the deceased while he was sleeping.
He informed the court that he had no idea why he was assaulted by the deceased. According to him he acted in self-defence.
“Even if the deceased assaulted the accused, the means of defence employed exceeded the limits of defence,” said the magistrate Nandago.
Mutumburua is expected to be sentenced on August 7.