Windhoek
While giving evidence in his own defence in the ongoing trial involving a prison sex triangle, Benedictus Afrikaner, 30, the second accused told the court he had only wanted to hurt the deceased to scare him.
He said the deceased blamed him for the fact that accused one, Herman Rukero, 27, had ended their ‘relationship.
He recalled that on the day of the incident he was in the cell of Rukero playing chess. While the game was being played he went to the bathroom to answer the call of nature and came across Rukero and the deceased involved in a scuffle.
“I then decided to join the fight to hurt the deceased to make him afraid of me and pulled out a wire I had in my left pocket and proceeded to stab the deceased,” Afrikaner told the court through a Damara/Nama interpreter.
Dressed in a grey hoodie and brown slacks he gave his evidence in a calm and collected manner, somewhat dispassionately.
Afrikaner further informed Judge Dinah Usiku he does not know how many times he stabbed the deceased – maybe four or five times he said – but that he did not intend to kill him.
“I just wanted him to stop beating me,” he insisted.
According to Afrikaner, despite many complaints to the wardens nothing was done about the aggressive behaviour of the deceased, Eddy /Gomxob, 33.
He said the deceased, whom he described as a family member, was in the habit of fighting with him on a regular basis and on two occasions inflicted open wounds on him.
The first time the deceased apparently stabbed him with a sharpened spoon on his shoulder and the second time he hit him with the speaker of a radio on the forehead, causing a gash.
On neither of these occasions was he taken to hospital and the deceased was only put in a single cell for a day.
He too denied that accused three, Maleachi Seibeb, 49, was involved in the stabbing. He said while he and Rukero were busy stabbing the deceased, Seibeb entered the bathroom with a water bottle.
According to Afrikaner, Seibeb wanted to separate them from the deceased, but Rukero told him to go out and not to get involved. He said Seibeb then left the bathroom and went to the entrance of the cell to call for help.
He further denied he or any of his co-accused threatened the other residents in Cell 4 of the Maximum Security Unit (Unit 7) of the Windhoek Prison to remain silent or face being killed or assaulted as well. Afrikaner also denied he and his co-accused had hatched a plan to kill /Gomxob.
The three men together pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and defeating or obstructing or attempting to obstruct or defeat the course of justice before Judge Dinah Usiku in July last year.
Rukero and Afrikaner admits stabbing the deceased, but claims it was in self-defense after the deceased pulled out a sharp metal object in order to stab Rukero, while Seibeb claims he was simply not involved.
The State alleges the trio stabbed Gomxob at least 14 times with the self-made instrument and also stomped on his head and kicked him during the lunch hour on Wednesday, January 18, 2012.
Rukero and Seibeb are represented by Mbanga Siyomundji and Afrikaner by Milton Engelbrecht on the instruction of the legal aid directorate.