Mother killer Ngatjizeko gets 40 years

WINDHOEKFRED GOEIEMAN

"She was defenceless and innocent human being who died at the hands of her own son. The conduct of the accused was truly diabolical and unforgivable. The sheer savagery of this crime boggles the mind."
These were the words yesterday of Windhoek High Court judge Nate Ndauendapo shortly before he sentenced 34-year-old Natangwe Iipinge Ngatjizeko to 40 years for the brutal murder of his mother, Fenny Ipinge.
A one-month sentence for theft was ordered to run concurrently.
Ngatjizeko is the son of Safety and Security Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko.
Fenny was stabbed more than 30 times between December 17 and 18, 2006 at her house in Katutura. Some of her ribs were fractured in the attack and her lungs, kidneys and liver suffered serious ruptures.
Ngatjizeko had also poured hot water over his mother.
Ndauendapo said yesterday that Ngatjizeko, who is a first offender and had spent six years and six months in custody before his sentencing, did not show any sign of remorse.
The judge said the murder was premeditated.
In his confession Ngatjizeko said that two weeks before the killing, when he was in Walvis Bay, he had already made up his mind to kill his mother.
Fenny was a retired employee of State House, where she served as a special aide to former First Lady, Kovambo Nujoma, for 12 years. The deceased went into exile when Ngatjizeko was one-year-old.
Ndauendapo said the accused was a blue-eyed boy of the deceased and both parents ensured he received a proper educated.
They enrolled him at the University of Namibia (Unam), the Polytechnic of Namibia, and found him a scholarship for a university in the Czech Republic.
Fenny had in the past told Ngatjizeko's father that their son was obedient and that she had a special place for him in her heart.
However, he abandoned his studies and started smoking marijuana and consumed alcohol heavily.
"What turned an intelligent young man into a murderer of his own mother remains a mystery," Ndauendapo said.
The accused continued with his drinking and smoking habits and as he was unemployed he started stealing to maintain his drug habit.
Ngatjizeko had lived in Zimbabwe, as well as to Cape Town where he settled in a township where a large number of Rastafarians resided. In both he was arrested and deported.