A man who was first found to be unfit to stand trial due to a mental defect by a State psychiatrist, then declared fit by a private one, was convicted on some of the charges he faced yesterday.
Windhoek High Court Judge Nate Ndauendapo found that Johannes Lukuwa Hausiku was indeed able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions when he committed the crimes he was convicted of.
“I am satisfied that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not suffer from a mental defect at the time the offences were committed and that he can be held criminally responsible for his actions,” the judge said.
Hausiku was facing 15 charges emanating from three incidents that took place at Outjo during the first half of 2012. He has denied guilt on all of the charges.
He is alleged to have kidnapped and raped a woman at Outjo in the Kunene region on the night of 30 May 2012. He then allegedly murdered the woman’s two-year-old son and hindered police investigations by telling her to report to the police that she had been attacked and her son was killed by four unknown men.
On this charge, the judge said while the woman was a single witness, she gave her testimony in a clear and concise manner and was not shaken during cross-examination. He further said the woman was sober after she woke up and could clearly see her attacker.
For this incident, he was convicted of murder, kidnapping, two counts of rape and defeating the course of justice. He was also convicted on a count of attempted rape for an incident that happened in January 2012. The judge said that he was satisfied that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Hausiku indeed attempted to rape the woman.
He said her evidence was credible and was corroborated by two other witnesses. With regards to the second incident in January 2012, the judge said while Hausiku faced a count of kidnapping, five counts of rape and a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, the reality is that unfortunately, the complainant died and could not give evidence. He further said although there is evidence from the complainant’s friend and her sister about her telling them that she was repeatedly raped by Hausiku and that she positively identified him, only one rape can be proven.
Thus, he said, he agrees with the State’s concession that the kidnapping, four rapes and the robbery charge cannot be proven and that Hausiku should be acquitted on those. He subsequently found him not guilty on those charges. The matter was postponed to 13 September for pre-sentencing procedures and Hausiku who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2012, remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial awaiting inmates.
-rrouth@nepc.com.na