Rust returns to jail
Kai Rust (45), the Okahandja farmer who was found guilty of culpable homicide for the fatal shooting of Andreas Ukandanga (41) who was poaching on his farm in January 2016, was sentenced to an effective three years' imprisonment on Friday.
Rust had already spent 17 months in jail before Windhoek Regional Court Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt granted him bail in July 2017.
During the sentencing on Friday, Diergaardt said the defence had tried to portray the negligence Rust exhibited during the shooting incident to be of a lower degree than the evidence before the court suggested.
Jan Wessels, Rust's lawyer, argued that Rust displayed a “reasonably low” degree of negligence as he had not seen or heard any people nearby and had merely shot to drive the poachers' dogs off his farm.
During sentencing on Friday, Diergaardt stated that the hunting dogs should have alerted Rust to the fact that people were nearby.
Diergaardt said while Rust did not deliberately shoot at Ukandanga or his accomplices, his actions did result in death of a person. She argued that the negligence on his part was that he did not take the necessary precautions to ascertain whether a person was nearby when he fired his rifle, that he had used a rifle with a telescope in close proximity to the dog, and that he had been in no direct danger and ultimately, had no reason to fire a shot. Diergaardt said the courts could not permit the frustration caused by poaching and stock theft on farms to mean that a person's life was worth less because they were committing a crime. She said the problem should not lower the responsibility of a farmer to “take the necessary care to see if people are in the area”. A fine without custodial punishment would send the wrong message, Diergaardt said.
“We cannot allow that in Namibia.”
Diergaardt found that the seriousness of Rust's offence outweighed his personal circumstances and sentenced him to a five-year prison term, with two years conditionally suspended. Shortly before the sentencing on Friday, Rust's lawyer argued in mitigation of sentencing that Rust's lengthy detention without bail, which was the result of a deeply flawed legal procedure against his client, should be taken into consideration when it came to sentencing. Wessels further pointed out that Rust was a first offender and argued that he had a right to shoot since he was protecting his property and poaching was a long-standing problem on the farm.
“The accused was farming, minding his own business; he was there in peace. The others were not, they committed a crime, and they knew it was unlawful to hunt game,” he said. Wessels argued that the court should impose a fine or alternatively a fully suspended prison sentence.
State prosecutor Filemon Nyau asked the court to for an eight-year prison sentence, with two years suspended.
He argued that the sentence should not only deter the accused but other would-be offenders.
“People must know that irrespective of the circumstances, the law is there to ensure that a life is not lost due to negligence.” A family friend of Rust described Rust's sentence as “shocking”. He said it was not yet clear whether the family would appeal the sentence.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Rust had already spent 17 months in jail before Windhoek Regional Court Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt granted him bail in July 2017.
During the sentencing on Friday, Diergaardt said the defence had tried to portray the negligence Rust exhibited during the shooting incident to be of a lower degree than the evidence before the court suggested.
Jan Wessels, Rust's lawyer, argued that Rust displayed a “reasonably low” degree of negligence as he had not seen or heard any people nearby and had merely shot to drive the poachers' dogs off his farm.
During sentencing on Friday, Diergaardt stated that the hunting dogs should have alerted Rust to the fact that people were nearby.
Diergaardt said while Rust did not deliberately shoot at Ukandanga or his accomplices, his actions did result in death of a person. She argued that the negligence on his part was that he did not take the necessary precautions to ascertain whether a person was nearby when he fired his rifle, that he had used a rifle with a telescope in close proximity to the dog, and that he had been in no direct danger and ultimately, had no reason to fire a shot. Diergaardt said the courts could not permit the frustration caused by poaching and stock theft on farms to mean that a person's life was worth less because they were committing a crime. She said the problem should not lower the responsibility of a farmer to “take the necessary care to see if people are in the area”. A fine without custodial punishment would send the wrong message, Diergaardt said.
“We cannot allow that in Namibia.”
Diergaardt found that the seriousness of Rust's offence outweighed his personal circumstances and sentenced him to a five-year prison term, with two years conditionally suspended. Shortly before the sentencing on Friday, Rust's lawyer argued in mitigation of sentencing that Rust's lengthy detention without bail, which was the result of a deeply flawed legal procedure against his client, should be taken into consideration when it came to sentencing. Wessels further pointed out that Rust was a first offender and argued that he had a right to shoot since he was protecting his property and poaching was a long-standing problem on the farm.
“The accused was farming, minding his own business; he was there in peace. The others were not, they committed a crime, and they knew it was unlawful to hunt game,” he said. Wessels argued that the court should impose a fine or alternatively a fully suspended prison sentence.
State prosecutor Filemon Nyau asked the court to for an eight-year prison sentence, with two years suspended.
He argued that the sentence should not only deter the accused but other would-be offenders.
“People must know that irrespective of the circumstances, the law is there to ensure that a life is not lost due to negligence.” A family friend of Rust described Rust's sentence as “shocking”. He said it was not yet clear whether the family would appeal the sentence.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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