The man, dubbed the ‘Swakopmund Butcher’ is continuing with his quest to be released on parole after spending the last 23 years in jail.

Thomas Adolf Florin (57) was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 December 1999 after he was convicted of brutally murdering his wife in June 1998. 

Former judge president Pio Teek had sentenced him to life, and recommended that he should not be considered for parole without spending at least 15 years in jail.   

Florin has been in custody since June 1998 after he was arrested for the gruesome murder of his wife, Monika Florin (30), at Swakopmund. 

The court concluded that he murdered his wife by hitting her with a hammer on the head and thereafter cutting up her body, stripping it of its flesh, cooking the remains and hiding her bones in the ceiling of their home.

He is now pinning his hopes on a new application in terms of an earlier judgement by High Court Judge Shafimana Ueitele, which declared that he was sentenced under the 1959 Act that was still in operation when he was sentenced in 1999. 

His legal representative, senior counsel Roelof du Plessis, assisted by Advocate Apie Small, both from Pretoria in South Africa, said the ruling by Judge Ueitele enables Florin to be released on probation, as the 1959 Act makes provision for a lifer to be eligible for parole after serving 10 years. 

They submitted that the 1998 Act did not make provision for parole conditions for inmates sentenced to life imprisonment. 

As such, the provisions of the 1959 Act remained in force. They further want the court to declare that the Namibia Correctional Service (NCS)’s position that foreign offenders cannot be released on parole if they do not have permanent residence in Namibia is unconstitutional and unlawful. 

As a result, they want Windhoek High Court Judge Boas Usiku to declare Florin eligible for parole immediately. 

They also want costs on the scale of one instructing and two instructed counsel. Du Plessis and Small are instructed by Stoan Horn from Theunissen, Louw &
Partners.

Mkhululi Khupe from the Government Attorney’s Office argued that Florin was sentenced under the provisions of the 2012 Act, which repealed the 1998
Act.  

According to its provisions, he must spend at least 25 years in prison before being eligible for parole. 

He said since Florin was sentenced after the coming into operation of the 1998 Act, the fact of the matter is that this Act did not give any reference to parole for life-serving offenders. 

The only Act that gives lifers a lifeline is the 2012 Act, which set a timeframe of 25 years before an inmate can become eligible for parole, he argued. 

With regards to Florin’s argument that foreigners are discriminated against with regards to early release on parole or probation, Khupe argued that there is no distinction, and that foreigners are only eligible for probation and not parole. 

They would be granted immigration status to serve the rest of their sentence, albeit under the supervision of the authorities. 

Judge Usiku reserved his judgement until 15 March next year.

Florin is eligible for probation in April 2025, an enquiry to the NCS confirmed.

- rrouth@nepc.com.na