State to appeal Hoff conviction

FRED GOEIEMAN



The State is not satisfied that a woman who had conspired to kill her husband was only found guilty on a charge of attempted murder.

The Windhoek Regional Court on 10 March sentenced the 56-year-old Susanne Hoff to a fine and a period of community service for attempted murder.

Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt sentenced her to a fine of N$30 000 or to serve a six-year prison term, and also to two years' imprisonment, suspended in full for a period of five years.

High Court Judge Alfred Siboleka yesterday granted the State leave to appeal against Hoff’s conviction and said he would give the reasons for his decision on 31 July.

The appointment of a judge to preside over the appeal hearing, as well as the date for the hearing, will be determined in the meantime.

State Advocate Marthino Olivier, who had lodged the application for leave to appeal, said the State would try and prove the basis of their appeal during the hearing.

“The accused was initially charged with conspiracy to commit murder but was only found guilty of attempted murder,” he said.

He argued that attempted murder is a common-law offence whereas conspiracy to commit murder is a statutory offence and the magistrate had erred in her conviction.

Hoff was found guilty of the attempted murder of her estranged husband, Egbert Hoff.

Hoff, who pleaded not guilty, was acquitted on the original charge of conspiracy to commit murder. In her ruling, Magistrate Alexis Diergaardt said the two State witnesses had pretended to play along with Hoff.

She had emphasised that conspiracy could only exist if a definite agreement existed between two people to commit a crime.

According to the State, Hoff canvassed three men to hurt or kill her estranged husband for payment.

State witnesses Wilbard Malina and Jekonia Shipepe testified that Hoff had asked them to kill her husband for N$25 000.

In her judgment, Diergaardt said the witnesses had given three different versions of the story.

Egbert Hoff testified during the trial that a certain Malima had contacted him a few times during November 2011 to purchase used car tyres and on 30 November of that year, at 17:00, a deal was struck for the sale.

He also told the court that on the same day, a police officer from the Nampol drug squad contacted him and informed him of a potential attempt on his life.

Magistrate Diergaardt said Malima had testified that Susanne Hoff had asked him to find people to break her husband's back and that later changed to a request to kill him outright.

Malima also said that Hoff had taken him to the couple's farm and shown him a pile of used tyres under which the body could be buried.

The accused’s testimony was rejected by the court. In her defence, she said that she did have contact with Malima and Shipepe, but she had asked them to pretend to be interested in buying a horse.

She said she suspected her estranged husband was selling horses that belonged to her and was pocketing the money. She said their marriage had all but collapsed at that point.

She further told the court that she met Malima through Fanuel Haiduwa when she was looking for someone to deal with debtors at her advertising company.

Both men testified that they took the money for the hit but had no intention of murdering Egbert Hoff.

Diergaardt found Hoff guilty of attempted murder, saying that there was an attempt by her to have the murder committed. She made payments to facilitate the deed and showed the two men where to bury the body and that she followed the plan through to the end.

State Advocate Olivier lodged the appeal while Advocate Esi Schimming-Chase will act for the defendant.