Verdict reserved on knife murder

By: WERNER MENGES

AN Otjimbingwe resident accused of murdering his pregnant lover in a knife attack in December 2006 is set to hear the verdict in this trial in the High Court in Windhoek at the end of September. The trial of Michael Uirab (26) started before Judge Naomi Shivute on Thursday last week with Uirab offering a plea of guilty on a charge of culpable homicide, instead of murder. The prosecution, represented by State advocate Simba Nduna, did not accept the plea.

Uirab is accused of murdering his lover, Rosalia Charmaine Amutenya (29), at Otjimbingwe in the Erongo Region during the night of December 7 to 8 2006. Amutenya was stabbed three times in the back with a knife. She also suffered a deep cut to her neck, with two major blood vessels being cut. That wound alone would have swiftly caused her death, the court has been told.
Uirab remained silent after Nduna closed the prosecution’s case, in which evidence from two witnesses was presented to the court. In arguments heard by Judge Shivute on Tuesday, Nduna asked the court to convict Uirab on the murder charge. Defence lawyer Brownell Uirab argued that his client should be convicted of culpable homicide, as had been admitted by him at the start of the trial.
Judge Shivute is scheduled to hand down her judgement on September 29.
Uirab is charged with counts of murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice, or attempting to do so. While he denied guilt on the murder charge, Uirab pleaded guilty to the second count.
In a written plea explanation provided to the court Uirab admitted that he stabbed Amutenya with a knife. She collapsed and when he realised she had died, he dragged her body away from the scene and tried to hide it amongst some rocks.
Uirab claimed the stabbing took place after a night of drinking. He stated that a quarrel broke out between him and Amutenya at his home, and that she then ran off from the house.
Later she returned, though. She was armed with a knife, and attacked him with this, Uirab claimed. He stated that he managed to get hold of the knife that Amutenya had with her.
He then stabbed in her direction, he stated: “(Amutenya) leaned forward against me, we continued to wrestle and fight until we held each other in the form of a hug, still fighting and I leaned over her and continued to stab her. When we became separated the deceased ran away and collapsed some metres away. I followed her and realised she passed away. I became scared and panicked, and dragged her body some metres away behind big rocks.”
In his arguments, Nduna told the court the evidence indicates that a big blood spot was found about 80 metres from Uirab’s house. That must have been the spot where Amutenya’s neck was cut, Nduna said. He argued that this contradicted Uirab’s version that the fight and stabbing had all happened at his house.
The cutting of Amutenya’s neck must be seen for what it is – the delivery of the final blow to end her life after Uirab had already injured her, Nduna argued.
Commenting that the home-made knife used in the attack was an “evil-looking apparatus”, he argued Uirab should be convicted of murder.
Defence lawyer Uirab disputed that there is any evidence that the spot where blood was found was 80 metres from his client’s house. He also said there was no evidence that Uirab had been aware that Amutenya was pregnant.
He said it is important for the court to remember that the weapon used in the stabbing was not Uirab’s choice, but was the weapon with which Amutenya had attacked him.
Having been attacked in his home at night, it could not be expected of Uirab to have thought where he might stab his attacker when he fought back, the defence lawyer argued.
Under such circumstances, it could not be said that Uirab had intention to kill Amutenya, he argued. He however conceded that Uirab had exceeded the boundaries of self-defence and that he had negligently caused Amutenya’s death. Uirab remains in custody while awaiting the court’s verdict.

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