Iuze Mukube 

Former teacher Patrick Geingob has been found guilty of killing his wife, Merentha Geingos, after stabbing her with a kitchen knife at least 12 times at their home in Okuryangava on 14 April 2019. 

Windhoek High Court Acting Judge Herman January found Geingob (43) guilty of murder with direct intent, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and common assault. 

The 43-year-old was acquitted on a charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice in relation to the fatal incident. 

In his judgement, January found that Geingob’s alleged memory loss could not explain away the evidence linking him to the fatal stabbing. 

He noted that while the accused was able to recount the events before and after the stabbing, Geingob claimed to have no recollection of the period during which his wife was stabbed. 

The judge said he carefully considered the psychiatric evidence, including a report extracted during court observations by a State psychiatrist. 

The report concluded that Geingob was mentally competent, capable of understanding court proceedings, and criminally accountable at the time of the offense. 

According to the judge, the psychiatric evidence showed that although Geingob suffered from depression, the condition did not affect his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions. 

He also considered the evidence of the defense’s own psychiatrist, who disagreed with the findings of the state psychiatrist and opined that the accused may have acted in a state of psychogenic amnesia brought about by years of emotional abuse, depression, and alcohol. 

However, the judge found that Geingob was not truthful in claiming that he could not remember what happened on that fateful day of the incident. 

Judge January stated that Geingob’s conduct after the incident was inconsistent with a genuine blackout. 

He noted that Geingob’s recollection of before and after events, while only losing the memory of the stabbing incident, was highly improbable. 

The judge also found that the circumstantial evidence corroborated the state’s version on all material aspects. 

Significant evidence came from state witness Antonius Uirab, to whom the accused went shortly after the incident. 

According to Uirab, the accused informed him that he had stabbed his wife and believed that the injuries were serious. 

Hence the judge’s finding that the accused’s claim that he does not know what happened was not truthful. 

The judge also relied on evidence of a witness known as Rian, who testified that shortly after hearing what resembled an argument from the two, one of their children ran to him screaming and saying that her stepfather was killing her mother. 

Riaan testified that after he entered Geingob’s house, he saw him sitting on top of the deceased with a knife in his hand. 

The witness testified that after intervening and pulling the knife away, Geingob allegedly uttered, “I am tired of this; call the police.” 

This utterance, the judge found, reflected an appreciation by the accused that his conduct was wrongful. 

Consequently, the defense’s argument that Geingob acted in a state of amnesia or blackout was rejected. 

The court also rejected the defense’s contention that the deceased’s death was caused by medical negligence. 

The judge found no iota of medical negligence from the evidence but found that the cause of death was severe blood loss resulting from multiple stab wounds. 

Considering the number of stab wounds, the areas of the body targeted, the type of knife used, and the brutal way the injuries were inflicted, the judge found that Geingob acted with direct intent to kill. The court also found evidence of previous incidents of domestic violence. 

Evidence was also led from a forensic witness, who testified that the deceased had multiple stab wounds on her legs, arms and torso, as well as on her hands. 

The deceased’s stomach had also been cut open, with the intestines hanging from the wounds. The severity, the witness said, suggested extreme violence and that the manner of the attack indicated a deliberate and brutal attack. 

This witness said that it was unbelievable that a husband and father could inflict such injuries on the mother of his children. The two had two children together during their seven-year marriage. 

Geingob testified prior that he was diagnosed with depression in 2019 and had experienced sleep deprivation, social withdrawal, suicidal thoughts, and feelings of worthlessness. 

He testified that on that fateful day, before consuming alcohol at various bars, he experienced an overwhelming sense of dread and feelings of uselessness and worthlessness. 

Geingob added that during the fatal attack, everything went blank. 

He said the next thing he remembered was seeing people and his children around him and his wife lying on the ground. 

The judge found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Geingob washed his clothing or removed evidence with the intention of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. 

Therefore, Judge January acquitted Geingob on that charge. 

The matter was postponed to 29 June 2026. 

–mukubeiuze@gmail.com