A 23-year-old man who was convicted last week of killing his aunt by whipping her with a homemade donkey leash and kicking her in Kavango West, was on Tuesday sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.

Judge President Petrus Damaseb, who is presiding over the Circular High Court in
Rundu, concluded that Kandjimi Katjotjo Haingura should have foreseen that he could cause the death of Behatta Nipembe (57) – his aunt, and not mother as reported earlier – on 12 June
2020 when he repeatedly assaulted her. Handing down the sentence, Damaseb said although Haingura
is a first-time offender, he is a danger to society.

“The deceased died most painfully. She endured humiliating and painful whipping, slapping and ultimately kicking that rendered her immobile. A more cruel death is hardly imaginable,” the judge emphasised.

However, there is no evidence that Haingura planned the
killing of his aunt, said the court.

While the convict admitted that he assaulted his aunt, he said he only hit her three times with a donkey leash, and she fell to the ground. After she got up, he only slapped her three times on her left cheek, and only kicked her three times on her ribs. 

Nipembe died as a result of a ruptured liver. The doctor who performed the autopsy told the court the rupture was consistent with excessive force from repeated kicking.

In his defence, Haingura said he did not know the area where he kicked the deceased
was a sensitive area where vital organs might be situated, and that his aunt could succumb to the injuries he inflicted. He further told the court that he assaulted her because she provoked him by accusing him of riding other people’s donkeys, and causing them to get lost. 

- mamakali@nepc.com.na