Backdated prison terms for 2 acquitted in murder trial

THE two men convicted of assaulting murder victim Theresia Afrikaner on the night that she was killed in mid-May 2005 received jail terms of three and five years respectively at the end of their trial in the High Court in Windhoek on Friday.

With the sentences handed to Sam Angolo (25) and Jonathan Taapopi Ashipala (23) both backdated to May 15 2005 – the day after the killing of Afrikaner in Windhoek’s Okuryangava area – only Ashipala will be serving additional time in prison.Acting Judge Claus Hinrichsen found both men guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm on Thursday last week. Angolo, Ashipala and two co-accused, Stefanus Lazarus (29) and Thomas Phillemon (28), were at the same time acquitted on counts of murder, kidnapping and multiple charges of rape.On Friday, Acting Judge Hinrichsen sentenced Angolo to four years’ imprisonment, of which one year was suspended for a period of five years on condition that he is not convicted of a crime of violence during that period. Ashipala was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, of which one year was suspended on condition that Ashipala is not again convicted of a crime involving violence.It was ordered that both sentences should take effect from May 15 2005. That day was the start of the more than four years and two months that Angolo, Ashipala and their two co-accused were to spend in custody before the end of their trial.Afrikaner (23) was found dead in a riverbed in the Okuryangava area early on the morning of May 14 2005. Because she was found partly naked, it was suspected that she had been raped.The last time she was seen alive was a few hours before her body was found. When last seen, she was being assaulted – slapped, punched and kicked in the face by Angolo, and slapped and punched by Ashipala – before she was dragged away into the dark while crying out for help in vain.The court heard during the trial, which started in October last year, that Afrikaner had spent some time with Angolo, Ashipala, Lazarus and Phillemon at a bar in Okuryangava. She had some drinks that had been bought by Angolo. The assault on Afrikaner started when she refused to accompany Angolo to his house, and he complained that she had been drinking liquor that he had bought for her.The only testimony before the court about what happened to Afrikaner after she was taken away into the dark came from a statement that Ashipala made to a Police officer after his arrest. During the trial Ashipala did not repeat what he said in the statement, however. The effect of this was that what he said in his statement could not be used as evidence against any of his co-accused.In the statement, Ashipala related seeing Angolo, Lazarus and Phillemon dragging Afrikaner towards a riverbed and throwing stones at her. He then saw Angolo having intercourse with Afrikaner, who was motionless and silent by then, Ashipala stated.In his judgement on Thursday, Acting Judge Hinrichsen noted that all the direct evidence in the case was ‘confined to the two assault scenes and does not link up, lead or point to the cardinal crimes allegedly committed namely rape and murder’.After Angolo and Ashipala were convicted of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, Angolo told the court that he was employed at State House as a forklift driver at the time of the incident. A relative of Angolo’s holds a senior position in the Office of the President.The court also heard that Ashipala is serving a four-year prison term after he was convicted on a charge of robbery on June 1 2006.One of his co-accused in that case was Phillemon, who ended up being sent to jail for 11 years on a count of murder.That conviction of Ashipala, which occurred after the assault on Afrikaner, does not count as a previous conviction, but at the very least that crime ‘indicates (Ashipala’s) weak character and is evidence of his propensity to repeat crimes of violence’, Acting Judge Hinrichsen commented.It was for that reason that he decided to impose a heavier sentence on Ashipala, he said.Angolo was represented by defence lawyer Jan Wessels during the trial. Profysen Muluti represented Ashipala. State advocate Ed Marondedze appeared for the prosecution.