State advocate Taedago Gaweseb implored Windhoek High Court Judge Naomi Shivute to convict a Rehoboth resident, accused of killing his 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend on a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.

Deon Boois (31) pleaded not guilty to the charge and informed the court that he was not at home when his girlfriend, Barbara Ganses, who was 15 to 16 weeks pregnant with his twin sons, was murdered on 9 December 2012.

Gaweseb argued the State proved beyond reasonable doubt that Boois killed the victim in cold blood and thereafter informed his mother and sister about the deed, and asked them to kill him with the same knife.

According to him, although the accused denies this, he did not forward any reason why his sister would lie to incriminate him. 

His only defence is that she might be mistaken about what she heard when he informed her that he found his girlfriend stabbed.

Gaweseb told the judge she is confronted with two mutually destructive versions and had to carefully consider all the evidence to come to a correct factual finding. 

He said what the court has to do is to evaluate the evidence presented as a whole and thereafter decide whether the State has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Joseph Andreas, who is representing Boois on instructions of Legal Aid, said the State’s case hinges totally on circumstantial evidence, and the prosecution did not provide any reliable, direct evidence implicating the accused in the commission of the offence.

 According to him, the versions of the two main witnesses of the State were not consistent: they contradicted each other materially; therefore, they are not credible witnesses and their evidence is not reliable and trustworthy. 

Furthermore, he said, it cannot be ruled out that the witnesses were mistaken in the report they received from the accused when he reported that he found his girlfriend stabbed, and they merely concluded it was the accused who stabbed the victim. 

Boois testified that when he arrived at his room after visiting a friend, he found the victim in a pool of blood on the floor with their child sitting on the floor next to the victim. 

He then took the child and ran to his sister, Evengeline Eixas, and reported to her that he found the victim who was stabbed to death in his room, he explained. 

Eixas testified that Boois told her he stabbed the victim, that he does not want to live anymore, and that she should stab him to death. 

Andreas further told the judge that the version of Boois is reasonably possibly true and that there is no onus on him to prove his version, but that it is sufficient that a court believes there is a reasonable possibility that he may be substantially true. 

In this instance, he said, it is the case.

The judge remanded the matter to 5 October for the verdict, and Boois is out on bail. 

- rrouth@nepc.com.na