The Oshakati High Court convicted the man who was on trial for stabbing and beheading his girlfriend in 2014 at his flat in Oshakati.

Judge Marlene Tommasi found Ananias Ekongo Nailenge (30) guilty for murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act. However, she acquitted him on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances. 

“Having considered the body of evidence adduced by the State and the accused in its totality, I am satisfied that the State proved beyond reasonable doubt that the offence of murder was committed, that it was the accused who stabbed the deceased and slit her throat and that he did so with direct intent,” explained Tommasi.

Nailenge was on trial for the death of his girlfriend Mirjam Nandjato who died on 4 February 2014. Nandjato’s lifeless body was found at Nailenge’s flat in Oshakati West with a stab wound to her abdomen and her neck slit, with her head connected to her body only by a piece of skin.

During the trial his uncle testified that Nailenge called him to tell him that he had killed his girlfriend. The accused’s flatmate allegedly also received a similar call from Nailenge on the date in question. 
His uncle eventually notified the police and they all met at the grisly scene. 

Nailenge’s uncle further testified that he visited him at the police station after his arrest. During his visit, Nailenge fully confessed to the murder.

During his section 119 plea in the Oshakati Magistrate’s Court, Nailenge admitted guilt. Nailenge confessed to killing Nandjato by beheading her after a quarrel over a baby he fathered with another woman. It was his testimony that he first stabbed Nandjato in the chest with a knife, before slitting her throat.
After the heinous crime, Nailenge fled the scene with the deceased’s cellular phone but was arrested in Epoko village. 

“The State did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused forced the deceased into submission by stabbing her and slitting her throat with the intent to steal her cellphone and the accused stands to be acquitted on the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances,” stated the judge.