Nuusita Ashipala
Ongwediva-The Oshakati High Court on Friday slapped 32-year-old Kapenda Manase Immanuel Angula with a 40-year jail term for the murder of his live-in girlfriend and mother of his child, as well as an additional charge of attempted murder.
Judge Herman January sentenced Angula to 35 years for the murder of 23-year-old Maria Paulus and 10 years for assaulting Johannes Kandala with a panga, with the intent to murder him at Oneshila location in Oshakati on April 21, 2015. January ordered that five years of the second count run concurrently with the sentence in count one.
Angula pleaded guilty to the charges against him. During the evening in question, he had viciously hacked Kandala on the head with a panga before proceeding to attack his girlfriend. Angula admitted to hacking his girlfriend multiple times on the head, face, neck and hand. She died on the spot.
The two are said to have been in a relationship for four years and the deceased was pregnant with their second child at the time of her death.
It remains unclear why he murdered his partner or why he attacked Kandala, but Angula informed the court that he acted in rage, without giving further details.
“He just informed the court that he committed the crimes because of anger. Allegedly, he had a fight with the complainant in the attempted murder charge. Thereafter, the deceased grabbed him and he cut her with the panga,” January remarked.
Angula testified in mitigation that he was a first-time offender and has five children, whom he supports. He further testified that he had already spent two years and four months in custody.
He said he had pleaded guilty and blames himself for the murder.