The widow of an Otjimbingwe farmer, who was hacked to death by a worker he hired just three weeks prior to his murder, said she would entrust his sentencing to the court and would not make a pronouncement of what would constitute a fair punishment.

“I am not God to deal out sentences for crimes committed. Let the court that is trained for it sentence him equal to the crimes he committed,” she said. 

The woman, who may not be named to protect her identity, as she is also a victim of the same person, testified in aggravation of the sentence of Kazana Nicolaus Hausiku.

Windhoek High Court Judge Naomi Shivute convicted 31-year-old Hausiku on charges of murder with direct intent, rape, kidnapping, robbery, driving without a licence and reckless or negligent driving – charges he pleaded not guilty to at the start of his trial.

It was alleged by the State that he killed his 59-year-old employer near Otjimbingwe in the Karibib district by hacking him on the head with an axe during the period 10 to 11 November 2018. 

He also threatened the wife of the farmer with a panga and raped her inside the farmhouse, whereafter he ransacked the farmhouse and loaded the stolen items onto a pick-up of the victim, and forced the wife to accompany him.

The State further alleges that while driving away from the farm, he overturned the vehicle between Otjimbingwe and Wilhelmstal. 

The woman testified yesterday that she and her family are still traumatised by the events to the extent that they need counselling, and she is taking anti-depressants and tranquilisers, as she still gets flashbacks of the events and suffers from depression and anxiety. 

She further said he has never returned to the plot where she and her late husband planned to start farming activities to sustain them in their old age. 

According to her, the victim was a gentle loving man with close bonds to his family and the family – sons and grandchildren – are still struggling to come to terms with his brutal death. 

In a cross-examination, Salomon Kanyemba, the Legal Aid-instructed lawyer of Hausiku, told the woman he has instructions from Hausiku to express his remorse to her, her entire family and the Namibian nation at large. 

She said she accepted the apology and said that as a Christian, she has already forgiven him, but that he must be punished according to the law. 

Kanyemba asked the woman how many years she would suggest for Hausiku, and she answered that she cannot put into years the loss they experienced. 

However, when Kanyemba suggested 20 years for the murder, she said it does not seem fair. 

He suggested 20 years for the murder, 15 years for the rape, four years for the robbery, three years for kidnapping and three months each for the traffic-related offences. 

He further suggested that all the sentences are to run concurrently, as they happened as “one transaction”.

Ethel Ndlovu on behalf of the prosecution argued that Hausiku has no respect for the law and deserves to be removed from society for a very long time. 

According to her, the accused did not show any signs of remorse throughout the trial, and his belated apology is nothing but a smokescreen and a ploy for mercy at this stage of proceedings. 

She further said the murder and subsequent offences were pre-planned, and the accused has a calculating criminal mind and is a danger to society. 

She suggested sentences of 30 years for murder, 15 years for rape, six years for kidnapping, 12 years for robbery, and left the sentences for the traffic offences in the hands of the court.  

Judge Shivute indicated she will deliver the sentence on 28 September.

- rrouth@nepc.com.na