Iuze Mukube

A 33-year-old Walvis Bay resident, who brutally and mercilessly assaulted his five-year-old stepson, was sentenced to an effective 30-year imprisonment by High Court Judge Naomi Shivute yesterday.

While reading the judgement of Riddick Melchior, Narib Shivute said the deceased Dantali Wilfried regarded the accused as a father, but this “father turned into a monster”.

She added that regardless of the accused’s anger and his suspicion of infidelity by the deceased’s mother, Narib had no right to kill the young boy.

Hence, his actions were unlawful and intentional.

She pointed out that the accused, after killing the deceased, decided to torment his mother by sending her text messages that he had killed her son.

He further told her that he wanted to hurt her and for her to feel that way.

Judge Shivute said that while the accused showed remorse, he could, however, have solved their marital problems in a decent and civilised manner instead of resorting to murder. She added that Narib pleaded guilty because he had no option, as the State had prima facie evidence against him.

“However, this court will take the plea of guilty into consideration for what it is worth,” she stated.

Additionally, she took the interests of justice into consideration, as “society demands that people who commit horrendous offences deserve to be removed from society for a long time for the danger they pose to society”. She added that the court considers crimes committed in the domestic setting in a serious light.

In this regard, she ordered Narib to be sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment for a count of murder with direct intent.

For the second count of defeating or obstructing the cause of justice, he was given five years’ imprisonment, of which three years will run concurrently with the murder sentence.

He will serve 30 years in prison.

The trial arose from an incident on 6 January 2023 in Walvis Bay in the Narraville area, where Narib assaulted the little boy continuously with a brick on the head and cut him with a knife.

The assault caused fatal injuries, and the victim died as a result. The deceased was the son of the accused’s domestic partner, born from a previous relationship.

It was revealed in court proceedings that the accused’s actions were triggered by the suspicion that the deceased’s mother had a sexual relationship with another man.

The State argued that the accused killed the deceased to hurt his mother and that the traumatising incident is one that a mother should not go through in a free and independent Namibia.

Narib was represented by Joas Neemwatya and the State by Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef. –mukubeiuze@gmail.com