Iuze Mukube 

A sentence of life imprisonment was imposed on a convicted man by Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen for the murder of his ex-domestic partner and the mother of his three children. 

Arnold Khamseb (50) was convicted in November for a charge of murder, and housebreaking with intent to rape and rape. 

The charges are in connection with the death of the accused’s 46-year-old ex-girlfriend, who was stabbed with a knife to the neck at her residence in Khorixas on Christmas Day in 2019. 

Judge Claasen, while handing down the sentence, stated that the prevalence of violence perpetrated against women in the domestic setup requires a loud and clear message from the court that the offence deserves harsh punishment. 

The judge stated that the act by Khamseb was “brutal and totally unnecessary”, with the accused cutting the jugular vein of the deceased while the children were at home. 

She added that acts of violence committed against victims in the comfort of their home, ensure that the offender would face the full wrath of the law. 

Additionally, the judge stated that “it is not clear why he would get angry when a person, whom he is not in a relationship with, accuses him of sleeping around.” 

This was in reference to the testimony of the accused that the incident occurred because he got angry and sad when the deceased accused him of sleeping around. 

She added that Khamseb did not show genuine remorse when he fled the crime scene and proceeded to nonchalantly celebrate Christmas and family day at his relative’s house, when he knew that he had mercilessly killed the mother of his children. 

Khamseb’s words and actions do not speak of true remorse, stated the judge. 

Claasen added that the accused does not shy away from violence and clashes with the law, as Khamseb is a repeat offender and has had previous cases of robbery and assault of a member of the police. 

Hence, she gave him a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder charge. For the last charge of housebreaking with intent to rape and rape, he was handed a period of 27 years’ imprisonment. 

For the last count, she stated that she was not convinced that the accused had true remorse for perpetrating sexual violence against the victim because it became clear that the rosy picture he painted that the victim forgave him 100% was a figment of his imagination. 

The accused testified that he and the deceased had separated in 2018 after a rape charge was reported against him. 

Khamseb also testified that he has two minor children and a blind mother who need his care and financial assistance. 

-mukubeiuze@gmail.com 

Photo: Heather Erdmann