KEETMANSHOOP – A 22-year-old Aussenkehr resident, who set her boyfriend alight, was on Friday sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for murder, in the Keetmanshoop Regional Court.
On February 3 2013, Bianca Engelbrecht set 25-year-old Isak Jossop’s reed hut on fire in the wee hours of the morning.
Court documents indicate that Jossop ended his relationship with Engelbrecht the previous day during a heated argument, unknowing that his decision would lead to his horrific death.
“This crime is shocking and horrendous. Once can only imagine the excruciating pain the deceased felt when he was engulfed by flames caused by the calculating accused,” said Justice Sunsley Ziswengwe.
Zisengwe made it clear that the youthfulness of killers cannot be allowed to overshadow the value of other people’s lives, adding that human life is sacred and irreplaceable.
He added that young killers claim to be remorseful, however, a closer look often proved that they in fact only feel pity for themselves when facing a daunting prison term.
“As a matter of fact, a number of violent crimes are committed by young people in the age range of the accused, but that does not mean the court will disregard that the accused sought forgiveness from the deceased’s sister. The court also takes in mind that the accused has a six-year-old child,” he noted adding that human life must be respected at all times.
“Life is sacrosanct, irreplaceable; one can only feel the pain of the family at the loss of their loved one. The more heinous the crime the more severe the penalty. That must be clear and the fact the accused and the deceased were in a domestic relationship aggravates the situation,” Ziswengwe emphasised.
Engelbrecht has a six-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Twenty years’ imprisonment is the highest sentence that can be handed down in a regional court.
By Jemima Beukes