Maria Amakali
Windhoek-Thirty-seven-year-old Matheus Ndeilikana, who was on trial for battering a man to death, was last week given a fine of N$2,000.
Ndeilikana had been facing a charge of murder for the death of Henock Hamunyela but the court found him guilty of common assault and convicted him accordingly. The court found that the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable.
The court indicated that the State failed to account for what might have happened between the period the deceased left Ndeilikana’s house to go to his brother’s shebeen and the time he went to bed.
Consequently, Magistrate Elina Nandago fined Ndeilikana an amount of N$2,000, or alternatively 12 months in prison. The prosecution alleged Ndeilikana had caused the injuries that led to Henock Hamunyela’s death by hitting him with a security baton.
According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death emanated from the blunt force to the head: blunt trauma. The deceased had swollen feet and an injury to the head.
Although witnesses saw Ndeilikana and the deceased in a fight, none of them could point out how the deceased was assaulted, or what led to the assault, as the witnesses were metres away from the scene.
Ndailikana, who took the not-guilty plea, told the court that he knew the deceased and would often lend him assistance when needed, but he never assaulted him.
The witnesses who took the stand indicated that after the tussle, the murder victim left for his brother’s shebeen, but no one could say what happened to him after he went to bed at his brother’s home.
Following the court ruling, Ndailikana’s bail money in the amount of N$2,000 was refunded.