Oshakati
“The accused is a danger to society, therefore society deserves permanent protection from him … No wonder some of the witnesses expressed their willingness for a death penalty … The court will consider his plea for mercy although the accused was merciless towards the victim.”
The ruling was of High Court Judge Judge Herman January on Friday when he sentenced a convicted rapist and murderer of a two-year-old child to an effective 75 years in prison.
The justice sentenced 30-year old Fanny Mahamba, a former resident of Macaravan West in Katima Mulilo, to 20 years each on two counts of rape, 35 years for murder and seven years for abduction. The sentence for abduction will run concurrently with the sentences for rape.
The court heard that on the night of February 13, 2014 Mahamba found the child Namushi Dorkas Pumulo walking around lost in the settlement after she went missing from her mother who was a street vendor. Instead of taking the child to her mother, Mahamba took the child to a deserted area with tall grass, where he undressed and repeatedly raped her.
The doctor who testified in court said baby Dorkas’ private parts and rectum were severely damaged, thus both sexual and physical abuse had caused her death.
Mahamba, who had a common-law wife, earlier told the court that he found the baby crying at Macaravan West but she went quiet after he picked her up.
She then started crying again when he started to rape her. When he finished raping her, he proceeded to strangle her and twisted her neck until she died. He left her lifeless body at the scene of the crime.
He was arrested the following day after some members of the public reported that they spotted him carrying the baby the previous evening.
Although he initially denied any involvement in the crime Mahamba later confessed.
He testified that he knew he had committed a crime and would be punished. He further told the court that he consumed alcohol prior to the crime, which according to him contributed to his actions.
Judge January however maintained that Mahamba’s intoxication plea was not applicable as his actions showed that the crime was premeditated. He said his apologies also did not carry weight as he had an opportunity to apologise to the baby’s mother but he initially denied the crime.
He had no choice but to plead guilty because he was seen carrying the child, said the judge.
Mahamba is a father of two and one of his daughters was his victim’s age at the time of the incident.
“If it were my child that was raped and murdered, I would have killed or reported the culprit to the police,” Mahamba earlier told the court.
Legal aid defence counsel Hope Ngara defended Mahamba, while Advocate Philippus Brink appeared for the State.