Head-chopping suspect talks

MURDER suspect Joseph Hakoonde Ngoya, who is accused of killing and decapitating a man in the Ohangwena Region last year, is set to hear the High Court’s judgement in his trial today.

Ngoya (34) is being tried before Judge President Petrus Damaseb in the High Court at Oshakati for the murder of Elias Kahandja Shoombe (57) at Ongumi village in the Eenhana district of Ohangwena on September 3 last year. According to medical evidence heard during the trial, Shoombe’s head was cut off while he was still alive.It is alleged that Ngoya stabbed Shoombe in the chest with a traditional knife (omukonda) before he cut off Shoombe’s head with a panga and proceeded to carry the head to a cuca shop in the area, where he is claimed to have displayed it.The killing was allegedly sparked by Ngoya’s ire over an alleged affair between Shoombe and Ngoya’s first wife a year before the incident.Ngoya pleaded not guilty when the trial started last month.His defence lawyer, Bradley Basson, told the court that his client’s defence was based firstly on a claim that he had acted in self-defence, and further on a claim that he had suffered from non-pathological incapacity – a temporary mental condition in which he could not be held accountable for his actions – at the time that he allegedly cut off Shoombe’s head.The headman of Ongumi village, Nailikana Nghoshi, was one of the prosecution’s witnesses.Nghoshi told the court that Ngoya and Shoombe where good neighbours until Shoombe had a relationship with Ngoya’s wife.The case was taken to the headman’s house where it was decided that Shoombe would give Ngoya three cows as compensation.Shoombe was unable to produce all three cows and paid N$600, a cow and a donkey instead.All was forgiven on condition Shoombe stayed away from Ngoya’s wife.A year later, the two met in the headman’s mahangu field.Afight broke out.On Tuesday, Ngoya testified that he was provoked when Shoombe, after being confronted about the affair, raised his panga even though it was Shoombe who was in the wrong.Under cross-examination by State Advocate Sandra Miller, Ngoya was asked why he questioned Shoombe about an affair that had been forgiven a year before.”The deceased’s wife came to me in August (2005) and told me her husband was continuing his affair with my wife,” Ngoya said.He admitted he was angry, but said he had no intention to kill Shoombe.According to Ngoya, he and Shoombe – both armed with pangas – got involved in a scuffle, and at some point Ngoya lost his panga.”I took out my traditional knife …and stabbed the deceased,” said Ngoya.The two struggled some more – and then, said Ngoya, he bit off a piece of Shoombe’s lower lip.Ngoya claimed to be unable to give evidence on what led to him parading Shoombe’s head.According to previous testimony by Shoombe’s wife, Lovisa Reinhold, and niece, Justina Simon, an apparently angry Ngoya came to the cuca shop before the incident.Reinhold said Ngoya told her to warn her husband that if they met, one of them would die.”The accused left for a short while and returned with something in his hand.I did not know what it was until the accused said, ‘Look, this is the head of Elias, the person I told you was going to die’,” said Reinhold.Simon’s recollection was different.She said Ngoya asked Reinhold why her husband reported him to the headman when he (Shoombe) was the one who had an affair.”He then used the Oshiwambo idiomatic expression ‘if the mother of Elias will not wear black clothes, my mother will wear black clothes’, which means either one of them is going to die,” said Simon.Ngoya denies that he said anything to the women before the killing of Shoombe.He however does not deny what he said when he returned to the cuca shop with the head, because by then, he claims, he had “blacked out”.Ngoya said he went home to put the head in a plastic bag after he realised that he had paraded it around.He also changed out of his bloodied clothes before taking the head back to the body, where he waited for the Police to arrest him.Ngoya remains in Police custody.According to medical evidence heard during the trial, Shoombe’s head was cut off while he was still alive.It is alleged that Ngoya stabbed Shoombe in the chest with a traditional knife (omukonda) before he cut off Shoombe’s head with a panga and proceeded to carry the head to a cuca shop in the area, where he is claimed to have displayed it.The killing was allegedly sparked by Ngoya’s ire over an alleged affair between Shoombe and Ngoya’s first wife a year before the incident.Ngoya pleaded not guilty when the trial started last month.His defence lawyer, Bradley Basson, told the court that his client’s defence was based firstly on a claim that he had acted in self-defence, and further on a claim that he had suffered from non-pathological incapacity – a temporary mental condition in which he could not be held accountable for his actions – at the time that he allegedly cut off Shoombe’s head.The headman of Ongumi village, Nailikana Nghoshi, was one of the prosecution’s witnesses.Nghoshi told the court that Ngoya and Shoombe where good neighbours until Shoombe had a relationship with Ngoya’s wife. The case was taken to the headman’s house where it was decided that Shoombe would give Ngoya three cows as compensation.Shoombe was unable to produce all three cows and paid N$600, a cow and a donkey instead.All was forgiven on condition Shoombe stayed away from Ngoya’s wife.A year later, the two met in the headman’s mahangu field.Afight broke out.On Tuesday, Ngoya testified that he was provoked when Shoombe, after being confronted about the affair, raised his panga even though it was Shoombe who was in the wrong.Under cross-examination by State Advocate Sandra Miller, Ngoya was asked why he questioned Shoombe about an affair that had been forgiven a year before.”The deceased’s wife came to me in August (2005) and told me her husband was continuing his affair with my wife,” Ngoya said.He admitted he was angry, but said he had no intention to kill Shoombe.According to Ngoya, he and Shoombe – both armed with pangas – got involved in a scuffle, and at some point Ngoya lost his panga.”I took out my traditional knife …and stabbed the deceased,” said Ngoya.The two struggled some more – and then, said Ngoya, he bit off a piece of Shoombe’s lower lip.Ngoya claimed to be unable to give evidence on what led to him parading Shoombe’s head.According to previous testimony by Shoombe’s wife, Lovisa Reinhold, and niece, Justina Simon, an apparently angry Ngoya came to the cuca shop before the incident.Reinhold said Ngoya told her to warn her husband that if they met, one of them would die.”The accused left for a short while and returned with something in his hand.I did not know what it was until the accused said, ‘Look, this is the head of Elias, the person I told you was going to die’,” said Reinhold.Simon’s recollection was different.She said Ngoya asked Reinhold why her husband reported him to the headman when he (Shoombe) was the one who had an affair.”He then used the Oshiwambo idiomatic expression ‘if the mother of Elias will not wear black clothes, my mother will wear black clothes’, which means either one of them is going to die,” said Simon.Ngoya denies that he said anything to the women before the killing of Shoombe.He however does not deny what he said when he returned to the cuca shop with the head, because by then, he claims, he had “blacked out”.Ngoya said he went home to put the head in a plastic bag after he realised that he had paraded it around.He also changed out of his bloodied clothes before taking the head back to the body, where he waited for the Police to arrest him.Ngoya remains in Police custody.