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Namibia: Cap Killing Leads to 14-year Prison Term
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008
Wergner Menges
A Walvis Bay fisherman who shot another man five times in an argument over a hat was sentenced to a 14-year prison term after being convicted on a charge of murder in the Swakopmund Regional Court this week.
Simson Albert Simson (26) lost his life over a baseball cap.
This is according to evidence heard by Magistrate Ben Myburgh during the trial of Walvis Bay resident Hango Simeon (36), who was accused of committing the headwear homicide by murdering Simson at Walvis Bay's Kuisebmond residential area on April 27 2004.
Magistrate Myburgh convicted Simeon, a father of six children, on a charge of murder on Wednesday.
The court heard that on the day before the shooting, Simeon had been involved in a fight with his former girlfriend.
At the time, she was wearing a new cap belonging to Simson.
In the fight with Simeon, the cap was damaged.
The next day, Simson approached Simeon at PMT Bar, a drinking hole at Kuisebmond, to ask him when he was going to replace the damaged cap.
Simeon's reaction was unpredictable and volatile.
He was packing heat at the time, so he pulled out a 7,65 mm calibre pistol and fired off a total of eight shots.
Five of these struck Simson, who sustained shot wounds to his head, neck, chest, an arm and a leg.
Simeon claimed that he had acted in self defence because, he said, Simson had thrown bottles at him and had been armed with a knife.
Eyewitnesses who testified for the prosecution however disputed these claims.
Having been convicted despite his claims of innocence, Simeon told the court he was deeply sorry over the incident and the loss of Simson's life.
Simeon conducted his own defence during his trial.
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Public Prosecutor Tania Tait represented the State.
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