A 40-year-old bus driver was convicted yesterday of the death of his girlfriend whose body was discovered in a bushy area along the Western Bypass on 17 January 2017. 

Handing down judgement, High Court Judge Eileen Rakow said the state proved its case against Victor Elia beyond reasonable doubt for the murder of 25-year-old Iyaloo Ndapandula Hainghumbi. 

Rakow convicted Elia on a charge of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

The court indicated that the overwhelming circumstantial evidence presented during the trial, the victim’s blood stains found in Elia’s bus, indicating that the deceased was either killed or transported in the bus and phone records, all indicate his guilt. 

Furthermore, there is testimony of Elia’s fellow inmate that he called his brother after his arrest instructing him to burn his clothes. 

It is alleged that Elia, who was in a three-year relationship with the deceased, received a text message from the deceased on the morning of 16 January 2017 informing him that she has a new boyfriend. 

This message was sent to Elia after the deceased spent the weekend of 13 to 15 January 2017 with the new boyfriend by the name of Paavo who came to visit her from the coast, it is stated. 

Although Paavo was investigated by the police as a potential witness, he was not indicted due to lack of evidence.

It is further stated that Elia then met up with the deceased during the period 16 and/or 17 January 2017 in Windhoek and killed her by kicking and/or beating her all over her body and head with unknown objects, whereafter he robbed her of a cellular phone.

Having killed the deceased, he dumped her body next to the city’s Western Bypass highway and stole her cellphone, handbag, jacket, and pair of shoes.

He then allegedly disposed of the stolen items and cleaned the vehicle with which he had transported the deceased’s body to the scene where it was later found, to remove traces of blood in an attempt to destroy or conceal evidence of the killing.

According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Through the trial, Elia denied all the allegations against him and left it to the state to prove their case against him.

However, during his failed bail application hearing, he testified that he indeed met up with the deceased on the date in question but he had no knowledge of what happened to her after that.

Elia will return to court on 20 April for submissions before sentencing. 

Defence counsel Mbanga Siyomunji appears for Elia, while Salomon Kanyemba is prosecuting. 

– mamakali@nepc.com.na