Katima resident jailed for killing his brother

AN act of fratricide 14 months ago left a Katima Mulilo resident with a conviction on a murder charge and a ten-year prison sentence at the conclusion of his trial in the Katima Mulilo Regional Court last week.

The trial of Hoster Ndunda Simwaela (35) ended before Katima Mulilo Regional Court Magistrate Bongani Ndlovu on Wednesday, when the Magistrate sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment on a count of murder and a concurrent one-year jail term on a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Ndlovu had been found guilty the previous day on a charge that he had murdered his 25-year-old brother, Mulauli Ndunda, at Katima Mulilo on the evening of March 28 last year.He was further convicted on a charge that he had assaulted his girlfriend, Lydia Kashimbi, that same evening.That assault was the prelude to a knife stabbing that claimed the life of Mulauli Ndunda, the court heard during the trial.That evening, he and a friend came to Kashimbi’s aid in an attempt to rescue her from a violent attack that Hoster Ndunda had launched on her, the Magistrate heard.Ndunda had been beating her and also stabbed her with a pocket knife in her shoulder.After Ndunda’s younger brother and the latter’s friend had separated the feuding couple and had taken the knife away from Ndunda, Ndunda went to his room, returning with an even bigger knife.The court heard testimony that Hoster Ndunda proceeded to chase his brother around with the knife, and that this ended with Mulauli Ndunda being stabbed in the abdomen.Massive bleeding claimed his life.In his plea at the start of the trial, Hoster Ndunda, who elected to stand his trial without legal representation, claimed that he had acted in self-defence when he stabbed his brother.His defence was not accepted by the court.Public Prosecutor Pieter Smit represented the State during the trial.Ndlovu had been found guilty the previous day on a charge that he had murdered his 25-year-old brother, Mulauli Ndunda, at Katima Mulilo on the evening of March 28 last year.He was further convicted on a charge that he had assaulted his girlfriend, Lydia Kashimbi, that same evening.That assault was the prelude to a knife stabbing that claimed the life of Mulauli Ndunda, the court heard during the trial.That evening, he and a friend came to Kashimbi’s aid in an attempt to rescue her from a violent attack that Hoster Ndunda had launched on her, the Magistrate heard.Ndunda had been beating her and also stabbed her with a pocket knife in her shoulder.After Ndunda’s younger brother and the latter’s friend had separated the feuding couple and had taken the knife away from Ndunda, Ndunda went to his room, returning with an even bigger knife.The court heard testimony that Hoster Ndunda proceeded to chase his brother around with the knife, and that this ended with Mulauli Ndunda being stabbed in the abdomen.Massive bleeding claimed his life.In his plea at the start of the trial, Hoster Ndunda, who elected to stand his trial without legal representation, claimed that he had acted in self-defence when he stabbed his brother.His defence was not accepted by the court.Public Prosecutor Pieter Smit represented the State during the trial.