Windhoek High Court Judge Claudia Claasen last week sentenced a Khorixas resident convicted of killing his common-law wife and mother of his two children with a pickaxe to an effective jail term of 28 years. 

Nawaseb was convicted on one count of breaking and entering with intent to murder and murder for breaking into the residence of his former girlfriend, Metihisia Tanises, and bludgeoning her to death with a pickaxe handle after she ended their relationship. 

He claimed self-defence and said he only hit her with the pickaxe to stop her from grabbing his privates. He submitted a plea explanation to the court in which he admitted to beating the deceased with the back of the pickaxe but denied the intention to kill her. 

While the State alleges that Barnabas broke into the house of the deceased and intentionally killed her because she ended their relationship, he claims that she assaulted him by grabbing his testicles and he hit her to force her to let go of his privates as it was very painful. 

Judge Claasen said that Nawaseb chose one of the most ferocious weapons, an axe meant to split wood to split the skull of the person who was supposed to be the love of his life. She said the injuries were directed at her face and skull with the cause of death being traumatic brain injury and she had no chance to survive the attack. 

The judge further said that murder remains one of the most serious of crimes, because of the irrevocable consequences of the deed. 

“The degree of blameworthiness is particularly high as was his partner of 13 years and the mother of his children,” the judge said. 

“The act has far-reaching consequences which cannot be adequately captured in words. The minor children had to be transplanted into another household, without their mother but also without their father and the act of killing brought about financial hardship for the new caregiver, who is a 63-year-old grandmother with a government pension as her only income. The act can also lead to emotional and psychological problems for the children down the line,” Judge Claasen stressed. 

According to the judge, the Combating of Domestic Violence Act was specially crafted by the Legislature to root out the patriarchal system wherein women could be treated as lesser human beings and be assaulted by their partners with little or no consequence. 

The Act embodies the special effort by Parliament to recognise that the quality and the lives of women matter and need to be protected, and the court must play its role in emphasising that protection. 

She further said while Nawaseb did express remorse, the weight thereof must still be considered against the gravity of the crime. However, the judge said, he remains mindful that the court cannot punish in anger. But, the judge said, the severity of the crime and the sheer brutality of it cannot escape a lengthy custodial sentence. 

She also said another factor to be taken into consideration is the period spent in pre-trial custody. Although there is no arithmetical formula for the period, the law is clear that an accused should get credit for the period served. 

-rrouth@nepc.com.na