Auleria Wakudumo 

The mother of Johannes Nanghama, a 43-year-old man accused of murdering his girlfriend, Helvi Kanana, with a pickaxe handle in 2018, testified against her son on Tuesday in the Oshakati High Court. 

Nanghama, who was 36 at the time of the incident, is charged with murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, 4 of 2003. 

The charges stem from events that occurred on 3 August 2018 at Etomba village in the Eenhana district in the Ohangwena region, where he allegedly unlawfully and intentionally killed his girlfriend.

Taking the stand, Nanghama’s mother told the court that she does not agree with the claim that her son was at home with the children during the time of the incident. 

She informed Judge Kesslau that she found the deceased lying on the ground with visible injuries upon close inspection.  A second witness, the deceased’s son, who was only 12 years old by then, testified that he saw the accused brutally hitting his mother with a black pickaxe handle before she passed on.  He was firm that he witnessed the attack. He said that he was in his room when he heard his mother screaming. 

“I managed to see through the holes of our zinc room that the suspect was beating my mother with a pickaxe handle. I later tried to protect her, but the suspect scared me of,” he recalled.  Two neighbours who attended the scene after the accused fled also testified against the accused in court.  The accused pleaded not guilty on the first day of trial, which was Tuesday. 

The case continues, and Nanghama remains in custody. Aina Mwaala represents the State. 

-wakudumoauleria@gmail.com