A Man convicted of murdering his brother at Rehoboth in November 2021, nine years after he had been sent to prison for killing one of his other brothers, is due to be sentenced in the High Court in four weeks’ time.
Judge Dinnah Usiku postponed the sentencing of Riaan van Wyk (46) to 10 July after hearing testimony and oral arguments in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility yesterday.
Van Wyk was found guilty on charges of murder and attempted murder a month ago.
Usiku found that he murdered one of his brothers, Frederik van Wyk (47), at Rehoboth on 13 November 2021 by stabbing him in the heart.
The stabbing took place after Frederik tried to intervene in a scuffle in which Riaan and another man were involved.
The judge also convicted Van Wyk on a count of attempted murder, involving another of his brothers, who was also stabbed at Rehoboth on 13 November 2021, after he had asked Van Wyk why he had stabbed their brother.
During the presentence hearing yesterday, the court was informed that Van Wyk has previously been convicted of culpable homicide after he killed one of his other brothers with a knife, and of attempted murder, which also involved a relative as a victim.
Having been found guilty of culpable homicide, he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in September 2012, with two years of that jail term suspended for a period of five years.
Van Wyk’s previous conviction on a charge of attempted murder dates back to April 2000, when he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, of which one year was suspended for a period of five years.
Van Wyk told the judge he was feeling sorry for Frederik’s wife and four children, because he took away the children’s father.
“She has no one to support her now,” he said about the children’s mother.
He asked the court to impose a sentence that would in future see him regain his freedom, so that he can reunite with his family.
Frederik’s wife, Melien van Wyk, who was called to testify in aggravation of sentence, asked the court not to impose a heavy sentence on her brother-in-law.
“He is also just a human being,” she remarked.
She told the judge she is struggling as a single mother after the death of her children’s father.
One of the children is a 10-year-old boy who has had a disability since his birth, she said.
Her oldest child, a boy aged 15, is not attending a school this year because she did not have money to enrol him in school, she also said.
Van Wyk asked her to forgive him in connection with Frederik’s death, she said as well.
She described Frederik as “a lovely man” who was hardworking and sharing, and cared for other people.
“We are missing him a lot. But we must continue,” Melien said.
A niece of the accused, Alida van Wyk, who testified in mitigation of sentence, said Riaan has asked his family members – including his sister and three surviving brothers – for forgiveness.
She asked the judge to be merciful to Riaan when he is sentenced.
State advocate Beata Hamunyela argued that Van Wyk’s two previous convictions are “extremely aggravating” and show that he has a complete disregard for the lives of others.
The stabbings in which Van Wyk had been involved, of which two had fatal results, reveal a tendency to resort to extreme violence, Hamunyela also argued.
Van Wyk should be sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment, to demonstrate the seriousness of the crimes of which he had been found guilty, she suggested.
During his trial, Van Wyk claimed he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed his two brothers, who according to him were attacking him after an argument about the sale of a farm they had inherited from their parents.
Usiku rejected his claim of having acted in self-defence as false, after noting that Van Wyk conceded under cross-examination that he did not act in self-defence as claimed.
On the attempted murder charge, she recounted that according to a doctor who treated the brother the injuries he sustained to his left arm and chest were life-threatening and could have resulted in his death without immediate medical treatment.
Van Wyk is being held in custody while awaiting his sentencing.
