Girlfriend killer convicted of culpable homicide

A man accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death at a dumpsite in Walvis Bay in 2012, has been convicted of a lesser charge of culpable homicide, instead of the more serious charge of murder.
High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka has ruled yesterday that the killing of Martha Nakale, by her boyfriend Otto Angula, was culpable homicide, as the accused genuinely believed he was in danger, and the only way out of it was to hit the deceased with the piece of iron.
“I am persuaded to accept that he genuinely acted in self-defence, when he hit the deceased with an iron metal on the head,” Siboleka said.
Nakale was killed on 22 November 2012 at the dumpsite, where she, the accused and others survived by picking up pieces of iron and selling them to recyclers.
Siboleka said the romantic relationship between the victim and the accused lasted about three years from 2009 to November 2012.
However, things soured on that fateful morning, after they exchanged greetings.
The deceased started to recount to Angula, the satisfying nights she spent with another man.
This infuriated Angula, who demanded the bangles and necklaces he had bought for her, but she refused to return them.
“They grabbed and pushed each other,” the judge said, adding that the deceased called to Aina Sesitenus for help, and who came running to the scene. Sesitenus is a witness in the matter.
Siboleka said upon seeing Sesitenus approaching, the accused vividly remembered the recent assault she and a certain Lovisa meted out to him, by overpowering and pinning him to the ground.
“Sesitenus had throttled him and Lovisa firmly grabbed his private parts,” he narrated.
Siboleka said that the accused, after failing to free himself from the deceased’s firm hold on his belt, picked up a piece of iron and hit her on the head.
As a result, she let go of him, fell down and died.
Sesitenus then turned and walked away.
The judge said that Angula, however, exceeded the bounds of defence, when he later hit the deceased further, while she was already lying on the ground.
However, the court ruled that the accused genuinely believed he was in danger and the only way out of it was to hit the deceased with the piece of iron.
Before the beginning of his trial, Angula fired his legal aid lawyer and insisted on conducting his own defence. He pleaded guilty, saying he admitted that he killed the deceased, but that it was not intentional.
According to Siboleka, the evidence presented by the prosecution witnesses did not credibly show that the accused had unlawfully and intentionally killed Nakale.

FRED GOEIEMAN