A 23-year-old man from Ekuku in the Oshana region has been slapped with an effective 29-year imprisonment, following convictions of murder and attempted murder.
Hilimaly Uulenga was convicted by Oshakati High Court Judge Herman January for the murder of Ashipala Fidelis and the attempted murders of Ipinge Lazarus Shikongo, Salom Nakanyala and Hilma Petrus on 25 March 2016 at Ekuku when he was only 18 years old.
According to the State, Uulenga attacked the victims during a frenzied period while wielding a knife because he was refused to buy alcohol on credit.
A quarrel then ensued, where people were poured with homebrewed beer, and the accused started insulting people older than he is.
The victim tried to intervene, and Uulenga stabbed him in the chest with a knife – and continued to stab the other victims in a frenzied attack.
Judge January said the offences of murder and attempted murder remain serious if not the most serious crimes to be committed.
“The right to life is sacred,” the judge said.
“It is protected since biblical times – and it is protected in our constitution. Our courts will fail in their duty if offenders are not harshly dealt with to deter convicted offenders and would-be offenders.”
He went on to say that the interest of society must be protected and must be seen to be protected.
“In the circumstances, it is inescapable that the accused will serve a long term of imprisonment. This is in my view, an extreme case of cold-blooded and brutal murder. In addition, the accused threatened to kill three other persons by inflicting serious injuries on them,” January stressed.
According to the judge, the crimes were not committed on the spur of the moment, but the victim was killed when he was advising the accused to stop insulting elderly persons.
“It is in my view aggravating that the accused acted with such disrespect to persons who could have been his parents. The deceased was 45 years old, and the victims were adults,” the judge stated.
He went on to say that while his youthfulness does play a compelling and mitigating role in the consideration of the sentence, the nature of the crimes and the circumstances surrounding it warrant a custodial sentence.
In the end, the judge sentenced Uulenga to 20 years for the murder and three years each for the attempted murder convictions.
Uulenga was represented by Legal Aid lawyer Petrus Grusshaber, and the State by Martha Nghiyoonanye.