Roland Routh

WINDHOEK - Two men convicted of mutilating the private parts of a dead woman after they murdered her in cold blood will be sentenced on June 14, a Windhoek High Court judge announced on Tuesday.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo reserved his judgement after hearing submissions on the sentences to be imposed on Kingsley Dausab, 46, and Michael Tsowaseb, 44.
The legal aid-sponsored lawyer of Dausab asked the judge to show mercy on him, saying that his client did not have a normal upbringing as he never knew his mother and was raised by his father. 
Braam Cupido further told the judge that Dausab has instructed him to inform the court that he regrets his actions deeply and that it would not have happened if he was not under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
He further said that the murder was not particularly brutal as the deceased died rather quickly, as was testified by the doctor.
The state-funded lawyer for Tsowaseb also told the court from the bar that his client deeply regretted the incident and that he was “deeply saddened” by what happened.
In the same vein Meses Tjituri told the judge that the fact remains that it was Dausab who strangled the deceased and that his client was a mere bystander which lowers his blameworthiness considerably.
Before State Advocate Eric Moyo addressed the court on the sentence to be meted out, he called the mother of the deceased, Frederika Uises, who told the court that 14 years after the incident her family is still hurting.
According to Uises, the two sons of the deceased have till this day not processed their mother’s brutal murder and that Mother’s Day is a torture for them.
She further said that the siblings of the deceased still cry every time they see the sons of their beloved sister.
Moyo rubbished the claim of Cupido that the murder was not “particularly brutal” and said the neck of the deceased was broken and her genitalia mutilated.
“An innocent life was lost in a cold, callous and hard-hearted way,” he said and continued: “The accused has zero regard for the sanctity of life.”
He further said that the deceased did not cause any harm to either of the accused and that her only sin was that she was a woman who lost her life just because the accused found it entertaining.
He asked the court to feel the pain of the family of the deceased and to send a clear message that the conduct of killing women just for the fun of it will not be tolerated by the courts.
According to Moyo the supposed remorse expressed by both accused was nothing but empty words.
He said the personal circumstances of both accused pale in comparison with the gravity of the offences and implored the court to send both accused to prison for life. 
Both men were convicted of murder, acquitted on a charge of rape, but convicted of violating a dead body by Judge Ndauendapo in the Windhoek High Court.
They were charged with the gang-rape and murder of 34-year old Menesia Owoses at Swakopmund during the night of September 3 to 4, 2005.
They remain in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s sections for trial-awaiting 
inmates.