Two men convicted of murdering an Outjo resident during a violent house robbery in October 2014 were each sentenced to an effective prison term of 30 years yesterday.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo sentenced Lourens Aib (33) and Hendrik !Nowoseb (34) in the Windhoek High Court each to 30 years' imprisonment on a count of murder, a jail term of 15 years on a charge of attempted murder, 20 years' imprisonment on a count of rape, and 15 years in prison on a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Ndauendapo ordered that the sentences on the counts of attempted murder, rape and robbery should run concurrently with the sentence on the charge of murder, leaving Aib and !Nowoseb with an effective sentence of 30 years' imprisonment each.
Ndauendapo found Aib and !Nowoseb guilty on the charges in September last year.
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Aib, !Nowoseb and a co-accused, Ferdinand Hangula, who died while their trial was underway, were convicted of murdering Outjo resident Gert Koekemoer (71), who died after he had been stabbed with a knife when he was attacked in his house during the evening of 25 October 2014.
Aib and !Nowoseb were also found guilty on charges in connection with an attack on a woman in a tuck shop next to Koekemoer's house.
During the attack, the woman was strangled until she lost consciousness.
The attackers stole about N$250 in cash, cellphone recharge vouchers valued at N$465, cigarettes, and sweets from the tuck shop.
The court was informed that !Nowoseb is currently serving an effective jail term of 44 years, after he was sentenced in the Windhoek High Court on charges of murder and attempted murder in August 2017.
!Nowoseb was sentenced after he was convicted of attempting to murder his girlfriend in December 2014, and then murdering her by stabbing her repeatedly with a knife while she was being treated in a hospital at Outjo.
The court has also been informed that Aib is serving a 14-year prison term on a count of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft. He received that sentence in November 2019.
Ndauendapo said the sentences !Nowoseb and Aib are currently serving indicate they have a history of not showing respect for the law.
He noted that Koekemoer was an elderly man and was vulnerable.
Koekemoer was attacked and murdered in his own home, in a place where he was supposed to be safe, Ndauendapo said.
He said the interests of society outweigh the personal circumstances of !Nowoseb and Aib.
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The men's trial started before Ndauendapo in February 2019, when they denied guilt on all the charges they faced.
Deputy prosecutor general Karin Esterhuizen represented the state during the trial.
Defence lawyers Jermaine Muchali and Natji Tjirera represented Aib and !Nowoseb, respectively.
