Windhoek
A man who claimed he only beat a woman suspected of bewitching his family and did not mean to kill her was convicted of murder with direct intent in the Oshakati High Court this week.
Moses Himelundilwa Alfred pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial and informed Judge Marlene Tommasi he assaulted Rosalia Amukwa – who was approximately 62-years-old at the time – with a stick from a Mopani tree as he believed she had bewitched his mother.
He told the court he was told by a witchdoctor that the deceased person bewitched him and his family.
He testified that he had consulted several witchdoctors who advised him the cause of his illness and that of his brother and mother was the deceased, who had bewitched them. He said his brother first assaulted the deceased, but the police decided not to get involved and rather referred the matter to the headman.
He further testified that he and his family requested the witchdoctor to kill the deceased and the witchdoctor agreed. However, when his mother became sick, he decided to assault the deceased himself, Alfred told the court.
“I cut a stick from a Mopani tree and with this stick I beat the deceased all over her body several times,” Alfred told the court. After he assaulted her he left the old woman there and took his mother to a witchdoctor for treatment.
Judge Tommasi found that Alfred knew that the blows he administered were severe and life threatening, even though he denied the intention to kill.
She said while he tried to justify his actions in that he believed he was dealing with a witch, he had testified that he appreciated that it is against the law to beat or kill a person.
Tommasi said the accused, although he believes in witchcraft, knew the law does not permit him to assault the deceased in the manner he did. According to the judge it is high time for the police and the State to investigate the conduct of witchdoctors in matters where they actively encourage their patients to harm others. She said it was evident from the accused person’s testimony that he first consulted with a witchdoctor to kill the deceased, which proves the involvement of witchcraft.
According to Tommasi, the accused was able to understand the wrongfulness of his actions and act in accordance with that understanding. She said the accused admitted he wanted the deceased killed. “He admitted that he beat her so severely that he was not able to say whether she was alive. He deliberated on the issue and chose a stick, which was capable of inflicting severe wounds. The force with which he directed the blows at the body of the deceased was so severe that it broke her arm, caused her kidneys and liver to tear and her brain to haemorrhage.”
She concluded that “the force of the blows, the size of the stick, the parts of the body struck and the fact that he walked away not caring whether the deceased was dead or alive, leads this court to conclude that the accused intended to kill the deceased.”
Alfred defended himself and Deputy Prosecutor General Johan Pienaar represented the State.