Windhoek
A former constable in the Namibian Police Force in Oshakati was recently sentenced to an effective 28 years in prison in the Oshakati High Court.
Judge Marlene Tommasi sentenced Andreas Hashiyana, 32, after she convicted him of murder for shooting his girlfriend, schoolteacher Eunike Aluteni, three times with an AK-47 rifle.
Aluteni died on the spot at Champ Style Bar in Oshakati on December 10, 2008. According to Judge Tommasi, when considering sentence the court must bear in mind not only the personal circumstances of the accused, but also the circumstances which existed at the time of the commission of the offence and the mitigating factors, particularly the lengthy pre-trial incarceration and the fact that the accused is a first offender.
However, Judge Tommasi said, the court has a duty to society to emphasise the need for retribution and deterrence and the accused’s personal circumstances must yield to other competing interests.
She said the family of the deceased suffered because of this cowardly act that deprived them of a family member. She mentioned that according to the brother of the deceased, it would be very painful for the family to see the accused walk the streets a free man.
The deceased was the girlfriend of the accused and after an argument between them, he returned with an AK-47 and shot her in the back causing her to fall down and die on the floor of the bar.
She said the court found that the accused was under the influence of alcohol and felt provoked by the deceased telling him she infected him with HIV. While the provocation might justify his conduct and mitigates the moral blameworthiness of the accused, the judge said, she must however consider the manner in which the accused shot and killed the deceased.
“She was walking away and he shot her in the back. This was a cowardly attack on a defenceless and unarmed victim. I can only imagine the terror she must have felt as she fled from the armed accused when he started shooting at her,” Judge Tommasi stressed.
The judge further said the accused has been convicted of a domestic violence offence and the next of kin have the right to reasonably express any view to help the court to come to a just sentence. But, she said, there are also other considerations such as the fact that the court must impose a sentence, which fits the crime, the offender and the interest of society while bearing in mind the objectives of punishment.
The reason for domestic violence legislation the world over is to fight the scourge of domestic violence, Judge Tommasi stated and continued “our courts have on many different occasions already indicated there is a need for deterrent sentences”.
She said the accused accepted that he would receive a lengthy custodial sentence, as the courts have consistently imposed lengthy custodial sentences where an accused murders a person with whom he is in a domestic relationship.
“This court’s response in this instance will not be different. There is no reason for this court to deviate from this trend,” the judge emphasised.
“The courts will not tire in its endeavour to stem the tide of domestic violence,” she stressed.
Judge Tommasi sentenced Hashiyana to 28 years imprisonment on the murder conviction and one year on the contravention of the Arms and Ammunitions Act.
She ordered that the sentences run concurrently and also declared Hashiyana unfit to possess a firearm.