WINDHOEK – Nekongo Noabeb received a 30-year jail term for the brutal murder of his nephew and causing the death of his girlfriend.
On Monday Judge Naomi Shivute sentenced him to 20 years for the murder conviction and 10 years for culpable homicide. She ordered the 10-year culpable homicide sentence to run concurrently with the 20-year sentence for murder, which means he will serve 20 years in jail.
Noabeb was convicted of culpable homicide for causing the death of Judika Uri-Khos by stabbing her in the leg after an argument erupted between them during the late evening hours of December 25 to the early morning hours of December 26, 2009. He was also found guilty of murder with direct intent for the stabbing to death of his nephew Edu Noabeb on March 5, 2011 at Arandis after a quarrel broke out between them.
According to Judge Shivute the fact that Noabeb is a first offender who has spent the last four years in custody awaiting trial counted in his favour regarding sentence.
Shivute said the accused professed “remorse” by saying he felt bad about causing the death of two people and telling the court that he apologised to the mother of his deceased girlfriend, the latter being the mother of his 10-year-old son.
According to Judge Shivute she considered what was said in mitigation as well as arguments from both the State and defence. She said that although Noabeb was convicted of culpable homicide on the first count, it is an aggravating factor that he committed a domestic violence crime by killing his intimate friend.
She said the crime was not a pure accident as Noabeb claimed, because he first threatened to cause harm to the deceased and when he caught up with her he applied physical force on her.
The judge noted: “The deceased managed to run away, but this did not deter the accused to execute his unlawful act.”
According to the judge Noabeb fatally stabbed the deceased when he reached her and the circumstances in which the stabbing occurred are so “peculiar that it calls for a lengthy term of imprisonment. The deceased did not deserve to be killed.”
Concerning the second count, Judge Shivute said murder is a very serious offence. But she said what makes this offence peculiar is the fact that the accused left the place where he had spent the evening with the deceased drinking alcohol.
“Then in the comfort of his bedroom, the drunken deceased came and fought with the accused,” she stated.
According to the judge, the deceased was escorted from the room, but reappeared and started to fight with the accused again.
She said the fact that the deceased was the initial aggressor constituted a serious provocation and she considered that a mitigating factor in favour of Noabeb.
Noabeb was represented by Titus Mbaeva on instructions from the Directorate of legal Aid and State Advocate Simba Nduna appeared for the State.
By Roland Routh