Woman sentenced to 22 years for murder of infant son

A woman who was found guilty a year ago in the Oshakati High Court of killing her newborn son in March 2020 has been sentenced to an effective 22 years in prison on Friday.

Judge Duard Kesslau said Hilda Tshekupe Iita was convicted on charges of murder and attempting to defeat the course of justice.

Kesslau sentenced Iita to 22 years behind bars, of which three were suspended for five years on condition that the accused is not convicted of murder or culpable homicide committed during the period of suspension.

On count two for attempting to defeat or obstruct the cause of justice, Iita was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

Kesslau ordered that the sentence imposed on count two be served concurrently with the sentence on count one.

Remorse

The judge said Iita’s guilty plea and "her evidence in court are clear indications that her remorse is genuine and that she is showing true contrition for her actions."

Kesslau said it was in the interest of society, however, as argued by the State, that Iita be punished for her actions. He emphasised that the victim was a day-old baby and a member of society. Furthermore, the offence was committed in a domestic setting between a mother and child.

"The prevalence of the offence of murder and, in particular, the killing of vulnerable babies is indicative of a morally bankrupt society where parents fail to take their responsibilities. Considering the crime was calculated and committed against her own child," the judgement read in part.

Deadly drink

Iita (28) gave birth to a boy on 12 March 2020 at the Oshakati State Hospital and was discharged on 13 March.

When her son, Elia Andreas, was one day old, she fed him methylated spirits, which led to his death.

She had received the liquid from the nurses at the hospital to clean the baby’s wounds.

In her plea statement, which she submitted to court last year, Iita explained that after she was discharged from the hospital, she returned home to the Uupindi location in Oshakati, where she lived.

Once there, she tried to breastfeed her newborn son, but said she was unable to produce any milk, which is when she decided to feed him the spirits.

Following his death, Iita put the baby’s body in a bag and travelled to her home village with his body wrapped in a blanket. She burned the remains in her family's mahangu field at Okeendapa village in the Otamanzi constituency in the Omusati Region.

Court records show that the corpse did not burn completely, and the accused threw the remains into the mahangu field.

No support, no help

Iita told the court that the biological father of the baby denied paternity, that she failed to produce milk, and that she was not in a financial position to buy alternative food for the baby.

She said she felt helpless, as she knew her parents were unemployed and could not assist. That led to her decision to end the child's life.

Kesslau said at the time when Iita committed the crime, she was 26 years old and already had two minor children, aged eight and six, respectively, who have been placed under her mother’s care.

After the offences were committed, the accused spent one year in custody before being granted bail. When she returned to court to plead guilty, she was pregnant again and gave birth in custody.

Her last born is nine months old and has been cared for by Iita in prison, Kesslau said.

Iita was represented by Petrus Grusshaber and the State by Martha Hasheela.

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