Iuze Mukube
Following a decision by Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa, a murder case pertaining to 23-year-old former fitness trainer Tjizake Hoveka Murangi has been transferred to the High Court.
Magistrate Olga Muharukua cemented the decision yesterday, ruling that Murangi’s trial will commence in the High Court on 15 October 2025.
The case, which was previously handled in the Lower Court, is now officially set for trial in the High Court.
In the Lower Court, he faced one count of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
The allegations against Murangi stem from the allegation that he brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend, Frieda Amadhila (29), details of which point to the “inhuman and barbaric manner” in which she was allegedly stabbed to death.
The incident, which occurred in the victim’s apartment in Windhoek, took place in April 2024.
Murangi remains in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility and is expected to make his first appearance in the High Court on 15 October this year.
He will now be arraigned in the High Court for charges of housebreaking with intent to murder and murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
Additionally, the charges include assault, fraud, two counts of forgery, two counts of uttering a forged document and two counts of theft.
Magistrate Monica Andjaba denied his bail request earlier this year in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
The denial was supported by the strength of the State’s case, which disputed Murangi’s version of events around the incident.
The State said it had physical and circumstantial evidence revealing that the deceased was murdered in an inhuman and barbaric manner.
This included a postmortem report that indicated that the deceased was stabbed more than eight times, the wounds being deep, indicating they were inflicted by a strong person. She had also suffered defensive wounds.
However, she got overpowered, and wounds on her knees indicated she had been defenceless and helpless.
The report further specified that there were two stab wounds that penetrated the rib cage, and three wounds had reached the heart of the deceased. Murangi’s version that he had been defending himself from the deceased’s knife attack was refuted by a doctor’s report, which indicates the wounds seemed to be self-inflicted.
Furthermore, the call data print suggested the accused had gained entry forcefully into the deceased’s apartment, as the woman had called the City Police to report housebreaking prior to the police receiving a call that she had died.
This, the State argued, placed him at the deceased’s residence at the time of the incident.
An investigation officer had further confirmed the history of domestic violence between the two, where the family members had even intervened.
Defence lawyer Milton Engelbrecht represented Murangi, while Rowan van Wyk was on record for the State.