A 12-year-old boy who witnessed the brutal murder of his mother recounted the horrible ordeal in court last Friday. The boy was testifying in the murder trial of a resident from the Mix settlement north of Windhoek, who is facing a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
Henok Negodhi (44) already pleaded not guilty to the charge, and claimed that he acted in self-defence when he stabbed his common-law wife, Ndapandula Ndinelago Imene, at least 16 times with a knife on Christmas Day in 2021.
The boy, who may not be named as he is underage, told the court that he was asleep in the living room of the house he shared with the accused and his mother. He said he was woken up by screams coming from their room, and heard his mother screaming “Help, I’m being murdered”. He then woke up his brothers, and they went together to the room. There, he observed the accused sitting astride the deceased and stabbing her. He noticed two stab wounds to the stomach and one to the neck, the youngster narrated to the court. He further said that he and his siblings then left the room to look for help, and called a neighbour, who came and looked through a gap in the zinc plates. The boy testified that he saw Negodhi wiping the blood of the deceased from his hands, and changing his T-shirt.
Some of the other neighbours arrived at the scene, but they did not try to stop the accused as they were all afraid because he still had the knife in his left hand when he exited the shack.
During cross-examination by Mbanga Siyomunji, on behalf of Negodhi, the boy remained steadfast in his evidence. The lawyer pointed to differences between his testimony and the evidence of two other boys, but the witness told the court that he was just telling what he saw. When Siyomunji told the boy that he and the other boys were fabricating the events of that night, the boy just said: “But mom is dead.”
The matter is presided over by Windhoek High Court Judge Herman January, and will continue on 1 July next year.
The State is represented by Anna Amukugo. Negodhi remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial-awaiting inmates.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na