A resident of Onaanda village was last week convicted of murder with direct intent by Oshakati High Court Judge Herman January.

January found Nikanor Imene guilty of the murder of his long-time girlfriend and the mother of his three children, Rauha Ileka. 

She died on 28 December 2012 at Onaanda after being stabbed at least 21 times all over her body. 

Her lifeless body was found in nearby bushes. 

Imene pleaded not guilty and offered a plea explanation wherein he stated that he and Ileka spent the night together in his sleeping room, but that she left early the next morning. However, his aunt with whom he stays told the court that Imene told her that Ileka was not feeling well when he left the house the next morning. 

She also stated that Imene and Ileka had a quarrel during the night and that she had to admonish them. 

January said that the circumstantial evidence against the accused was overwhelming such as the footprints leading from the crime scene to the room of the accused. 

He further said that the witnesses for the State were frank and credible while the accused was not a credible witness. 

“He tailored his evidence to fit in with his presence at places and situations about which witnesses gave evidence,” the judge said.

The court went on to say that Imene’s, however, differed from what transpired at those places. Imene, for example, confirmed his presence with Ileka the previous night and that there was an altercation with noise causing his aunt to reprimand them. 

According to the judge, the different testimony and denials of the accused are rejected as false beyond reasonable doubt. 

The evidence, the judge said, shows that the accused and Ileka were together on the night or early morning preceding the discovery of the body of the deceased. 

The post-mortem examination proves beyond doubt that Ileka died of hypovolemic shock due to stab wounds on the body, one of which penetrated the heart, January stated. 

Further, he said, one of the stab wounds perforated the upper lobe of the lung which could also have contributed to hypovolemic shock. With regards to the footprints, the judge remarked that he reminded himself that such evidence must be treated with caution when it is the only evidence linking an accused with a crime. 

However, he said, this is not the case in this matter. The evidence, the judge said, prove that the footprints were visible at the scene where the body was discovered, and two sets of footprints were observed from the house and one set back to it. 

It was established that the accused and Ileka were together at his house and there was an altercation between them, and the accused informed his aunt he was leaving because Ileka did not feel well, the judge remarked. 

He further said this evidence alone justifies an inference and conclusion that it was the accused who murdered Ileka. 

All in all, the judge said, the evidence prove beyond reasonable doubt that Imene stabbed Ileka 21 times with force with the intent to murder her.         

Imene is represented by Grace Mugaviri, instructed by Legal Aid, and the State by Ruben Shileka.

- rrouth@nepc.com.na