Windhoek High Court acting Judge Orben Sibeya sentenced a 58-year-old man to 30 years’ imprisonment for murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Sibeya said he took into consideration the people affected by the death of the victim, including her children, when he sentenced Benjamin Strong to an effective 30 years behind bars.
Sibeya convicted Strong on a charge of murder read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, one count of assault and two counts of common assault. On the conviction of murder he was sentenced to 28 years, on the assault count two years, and six months each on the common assault convictions. It was ordered that the sentences on the common assault convictions run concurrently with the murder sentence.
Strong was convicted of stabbing his girlfriend 62-year-old Johanna Resandt at least 12 times with a knife in the chest causing her death on 16 September 2017 in Windhoek. He had also assaulted her the previous evening.
He was further convicted of seriously assaulting Phillip Gadi Matsaya by stabbing him at least seven times all over his body. According to the judge, the personal circumstances of the accused are by far outweighed by the nature and circumstances of the offences and the interest of society, especially the offence of murder committed with direct intent.
“I therefore come to an inevitable conclusion that a lengthy period of imprisonment should be imposed on the charge of murder committed in a domestic setup,” he said.
He said the victim trusted the accused as he was her partner and that he was supposed to protect her and not violently attack her.
“I find that the accused abused that trust,” the judge remarked.
He added that society expects that convicted persons be sentenced accordingly, and that the number of cases of murder in a domestic setting and assault on the court rolls is alarming and shows no signs of abating.
“Society looks up to the courts for protection against perpetrators of such heinous crimes,” the judge said.
“The commission of such barbaric crimes of murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm cannot be regarded as acceptable behaviour or behaviour just out of line, but it is behaviour condemned in the strongest possible manner. Severe punishment should be meted out to offenders of such crimes in order to deter them and other would-be offenders from committing similar offences.”
Milton Engelbrecht represented Strong on instructions of legal aid, while Ian Malumani prosecuted.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na