Windhoek High Court judge Christi Liebenberg yesterday sentenced two American citizens convicted of the assassin-like murder of Namibian André Heckmair in Windhoek on 7 January 2011 to lengthy jail terms.

Marcus Thomas was sentenced to 30 years, and Kevan Townsend to 29 years imprisonment.

The judge said in arriving at a just sentence, he took into account the personal circumstances of the duo, the seriousness of the offences, the interest of society, and the impact the crimes had on the nearest and dearest of the deceased. 

Liebenberg said the effect the murder of their son and brother had on the family of the deceased was devastating, and they need to know why he was killed. 

However, his killers are not forthcoming with that information. “The motive to this day remains unanswered, and will haunt the family forever,” the judge remarked. He said the moral blameworthiness of an accused at the time of committing the offences becomes a crucial factor at sentencing. In this instance, he said, the convicts travelled from the United States of America with one goal in mind – to find and kill the deceased. They planned and executed their plan in the finest detail, which is criminally more reprehensible than an unplanned action. Furthermore, neither of the men expressed any remorse for the crimes they committed, and the accompanying pain and suffering brought upon the family of the deceased. “They appear unfazed by the crimes they committed and the consequences to others,” the judge said, adding that the half-hearted attempt by Thomas to recognise the grief and loss of the deceased’s family and hoping they would get through it falls significantly short of contrition.

Judge Liebenberg said offences such as murder and robbery are prevalent throughout the country, and every law-abiding citizen is shocked to the core at the rate at which these crimes are perpetrated, coupled with the brutality and callousness which accompany them. “These horrendous crimes are more prevalent than ever, and there is undoubtedly widespread outrage in our society against the senseless killing of fellow human beings,” the judge said. He continued that respect for life as such and the right to life has become non-existent to criminals, as the convicts in this instance only served their own interests. On the issue of time spent in pre-trial custody, the judge said most of the delays are to be placed at the door of especially Thomas, who did his utmost to derail the trial. “It started off at the onset by a botched escape attempt, a fake claim of a head injury, and multiple changes of lawyers, several failed applications for the recusal of the trial judge, and applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, as well as one petition to the Chief Justice. Also, there was occasions where Thomas refused to come to court. This ‘indecorous’ behaviour continued right up to the end when both men – on the day pre-sentencing procedures were to commence – instructed their counsel to bring an application for a special entry of irregularity to be made to the record. While an accused is entitled to a discount in his sentence due to pre-trial incarceration, the judge said when an accused is guilty of wilful and deliberate disruption or delay in court proceedings, which amounts to malicious abuse of the court process, that person should not stand to gain or benefit from such behaviour. Liebenberg said although the state advocated for life imprisonment, in his view, this would be too severe a punishment, given that the accused persons spent 13 years in pre-trial incarceration. In the end, he sentenced them to 27 years each on the murder conviction, and four years on the robbery conviction. He further sentenced Thomas to N$4 000 or one year for importing firearms, and Townend to N$1 000 or six months for possessing firearms without a permit. Both were sentenced to N$1 000 or six months imprisonment for possessing firearms and ammunition without a licence. The judge further ordered that two years of the robbery sentence must run concurrently with the sentence on murder. 

The state was represented by Deputy Prosecutor General Antonia Verhoef, Thomas by Salomon Kanyemba and Townsend by Mbanga Siyomunji. Both defence lawyers indicated that they will appeal the verdict.

- rrouth@nepc.com.na