A 67-year-old man who was 49 when he committed a double murder act in March 2012, was sentenced to an effective 70 years in prison.
Oshakati High Court acting Judge Alexis Diergaardt made the ruling late last week.
Fillemon Nalusha Nkandi was charged on two counts of murder in 2012, spent 18 months in jail waiting for trial, released on bail before the matter was withdrawn by the magistrate’s court for unknown reasons. 

The matter was enrolled again last year after almost 18 years when he pleaded guilty to the murder charges and was convicted accordingly.
Diergaardt, who was recently seconded to the Oshakati High Court as an acting judge, sentenced Nkandi to two consecutive 35-year prison terms for the double murder.

He was convicted of killing Martha Salmon (61) and her 29-year-old son Eino Nuujoma by shooting them with a shotgun at the Ondulu cuca shops in the Oniipa constituency in revenge, because the deceased insulted him three days prior to the shooting.
Diergaardt further sentenced Nkandi to a prison term of one year each for possession of a firearm and ammunition, which was ordered to run concurrently with the first murder count.

She also ordered that the shotgun and four rounds of ammunition be forfeited to the State.
According to the judge, the crimes committed by the accused were brutal and vicious in the extreme and perpetuated with premeditation, justifying that he should be removed permanently from society.

She said murder is undoubtedly one of the more serious crimes and the sanctity of a human life can never be overemphasised. 
“The right to life is the most sacred and precious right and it must be guarded,” she said.
 “The particular circumstances surrounding the killing of the deceased in this case are gruesome and needs some special mention. The evidence indicates that the deceased was killed in a cruel manner by the use of a shotgun belonging to another person. He was approximately 10 metres away from the deceased when he shot them.” – rrouth@nepc.com.na