The two daughters of Walvis Bay businessman Hans-Jorg Möller on Wednesday asked Windhoek High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku to send their father’s killers to jail for life.

The young women, who may not be identified because of their age, told the court that their lives have irrevocably changed since the death of their father. 

They further told the judge that he was not only a father and husband, but the sole breadwinner for his family.

They said since his death, they struggled to keep their heads above water.

Usiku convicted four of the original accused, but found the fifth not guilty after he squealed on his accused. 

She convicted Panduleni Gotlieb, David Tashiya, David Shekundja and Elly Ndapuka Hinaivali on one count of murder with direct intent, one count of attempted murder, one count of housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act. 

The judge, however, acquitted Malakia Shiweda on all charges after he claimed that he was only the driver of the vehicle from Windhoek to Walvis Bay, and did not take part in the actual robbery. 

The accused shot him when he came to the defence of his wife and children during the early morning hours of 17 June 2016.

Mbanga Siyomunji, on behalf of Gotlieb, asked the court to have mercy on his client. 

He said an appropriate sentence would be 20 years for the murder, 10 years for attempted murder, one year for the housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery, six years for the conspiracy to rob and robbery, and fines of N$2 000 for the arms and ammunition counts.

 Kalundu Kamwi, representing Tashiya, asked the court to impose a sentence of 20 years on the first count, six years on the second count, two years on the third count, five years on the fourth count, and N$1 000 or one-year imprisonment on the arms and ammunition counts. 

He further asked for the sentence on the third to six counts to run concurrently with the sentence on the murder count.

Tanya Klazen, acting on behalf of Shekundja, similarly asked the court to have mercy on her client. 

Klazen asked for a sentence of 25 years for the murder, eight years for the attempted murder, two years for robbery and two years for conspiracy. 

She further asked for fines of N$3 000 or one year and two years, respectively, on the arms and ammunition counts. 

Trevor Brockerhoff, on behalf of Hinaivali, associated himself with the sentiments expressed by his colleagues. 

He, however, suggested that the sentence on the third and fourth counts run concurrently with the sentence imposed on the murder charge, and fines for the sentences on the arms and ammunition counts.

Basson Lilungwe, on behalf of the State, said it was a brutal and callous murder that culminated from a well-planned conspiracy to rob the family. 

None of the accused showed any remorse, and little weight should be attached to the period already spent in custody, he said. 

He asked the court to impose a sentence of 30 years on the murder count, seven years on the attempted murder count, three years on the robbery count, four years on the conspiracy count and fines of N$3 000 or 12 months on the arms and ammunition counts. 

He further asked that sentences on counts three, four, five and six run concurrently with the sentence on the murder count. 

Judge Usiku indicated that she would deliver her judgment on 16 September at 10h00, and remanded the accused in custody. 

– rrouth@nepc.com.na