THE murder trial of Saima Hangula, who drowned her three children in northern Namibia in May last year, ended in an emotional breakdown in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.
Weeping uncontrollably, Hangula collapsed in the dock just after she heard Judge Louis Muller sentence her to an effective 25 years in jail. She lay wailing on the floor of the dock for some 20 minutes before efforts to comfort her started having a calming effect.Hangula (30) was sentenced to a total of 75 years’ imprisonment – a 25-year term on each of the three murder counts that she pleaded guilty to – for killing her three children at Eexwa-Ohehonge, a village in the Eenhana district, on May 10 2006.With Judge Muller ordering that the three jail terms be served concurrently, Hangula was in effect sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment.With the hearing of the last testimony on Monday, Judge Muller asked clinical psychologist William Chiremba, who had evaluated Hangula, about the apparent lack of emotion she showed throughout her trial.Even when she had to look at photographs of the bodies of her three children after she had drowned them, Hangula did not seem to show any signs of emotion, the Judge said.He had noticed a similar lack of emotion, Chiremba told the Judge.He said he realised that in Hangula’s view, the person who should actually take responsibility for what had happened was her former boyfriend, who is the father of the two youngest children.Chiremba added that some people do not show emotion because once they do, it might lead to a complete breakdown.On another question from Judge Muller, Chiremba said Hangula also did not seem to appreciate fully that she had to be punished for what she had done.Having received that punishment yesterday, Hangula at last showed emotion, and was swiftly overwhelmed by her feelings.At the start of her trial on April 17, Hangula admitted that she had killed her three children – a nine-year-old daughter, Emilia Popyeingenawa Isai, and two sons, four-year-old Paulus Shonghela and four-month-old Frans Kashivulu Shonghela – as part of an act that was to end in her own suicide.Deserted by her boyfriend, who was the father of her two sons, with her children’s fathers not helping to take care of the children, and facing health problems of her own, Hangula was depressed and decided to take her own life and also the lives of her children, she informed the Judge in a plea explanation.”I decided this because I felt I could not leave my kids behind as they are already suffering,” Hangula stated.On Monday, Chiremba further told the Judge that by killing her children and herself, Hangula wanted to end the troubles she was experiencing with the partner who she felt had abandoned her, and also wanted to save her children from what she felt was a lonely existence in a hostile world.From Chiremba’s report, it was clear that Hangula did not relate the whole story to him, but only gave him the facts that suited her side of the events, Judge Muller remarked during the sentencing.He said that he had also heard evidence from witnesses who related that about a month before the killings already Hangula had phoned her sister-in-law to tell her that she was going to kill the children.Hangula did not tell the psychologist about this, though.She also did not tell him about another telephone conversation that she had with her brother before the killings, in which she told him she was going to do something terrible, Judge Muller further noted.Both her brother and the father of her sons tried to talk to Hangula after she had made these threats, but they were rebuffed by Hangula, Judge Muller summarised some of the evidence.The Judge said he accepted that Hangula and the father of her sons had problems in their relationship and that Hangula blamed him for deserting her and her children and for her health problems.He also accepted that the way she perceived the world as a result of these feelings had an impact on her judgement and decision-making.However Hangula’s solution could not be accepted, Judge Muller said.In his opinion the real reason for Hangula’s conduct was feelings of rage and revenge against the man who had deserted her.Although Hangula’s personal circumstances could not be ignored, the emphasis in sentencing should be on the expectations of society, Judge Muller said.”No mother as a member of society will accept the right that (Hangula) assumed for herself to decide over the life or death of her own children for whatever reason.”Society expected that this type of family murder should be declared unacceptable in the strongest terms, he said.Deputy Prosecutor General Heidi Jacobs conducted the prosecution against Hangula, who was represented by defence lawyer Frieda Kishi.Hangula has been in custody since her arrest on the day of the incident.She lay wailing on the floor of the dock for some 20 minutes before efforts to comfort her started having a calming effect.Hangula (30) was sentenced to a total of 75 years’ imprisonment – a 25-year term on each of the three murder counts that she pleaded guilty to – for killing her three children at Eexwa-Ohehonge, a village in the Eenhana district, on May 10 2006.With Judge Muller ordering that the three jail terms be served concurrently, Hangula was in effect sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment.With the hearing of the last testimony on Monday, Judge Muller asked clinical psychologist William Chiremba, who had evaluated Hangula, about the apparent lack of emotion she showed throughout her trial.Even when she had to look at photographs of the bodies of her three children after she had drowned them, Hangula did not seem to show any signs of emotion, the Judge said.He had noticed a similar lack of emotion, Chiremba told the Judge.He said he realised that in Hangula’s view, the person who should actually take responsibility for what had happened was her former boyfriend, who is the father of the two youngest children.Chiremba added that some people do not show emotion because once they do, it might lead to a complete breakdown.On another question from Judge Muller, Chiremba said Hangula also did not seem to appreciate fully that she had to be punished for what she had done.Having received that punishment yesterday, Hangula at last showed emotion, and was swiftly overwhelmed by her feelings.At the start of her trial on April 17, Hangula admitted that she had killed her three children – a nine-year-old daughter, Emilia Popyeingenawa Isai, and two sons, four-year-old Paulus Shonghela and four-month-old Frans Kashivulu Shonghela – as part of an act that was to end in her own suicide.Deserted by her boyfriend, who was the father of her two sons, with her children’s fathers not helping to take care of the children, and facing health problems of her own, Hangula was depressed and decided to take her own life and also the lives of her children, she informed the Judge in a plea explanation.”I decided this because I felt I could not leave my kids behind as they are already suffering,” Hangula stated.On Monday, Chiremba further told the Judge that by killing her children and herself, Hangula wanted to end the troubles she was experiencing with the partner who she felt had abandoned her, and also wanted to save her children from what she felt was a lonely existence in a hostile world.From Chiremba’s report, it was clear that Hangula did not relate the whole story to him, but only gave him the facts that suited her side of the events, Judge Muller remarked during the sentencing.He said that he had also heard evidence from witnesses who related that about a month before the killings already Hangula had phoned her sister-in-law to tell her that she was going to kill the children.Hangula did not tell the psychologist about this, though.She also did not tell him about another telephone conversation that she had with her brother before the killings, in which she told him she was going to do something terrible, Judge Muller further noted.Both her brother and the father of her sons tried to talk to Hangula after she had made these threats, but they were rebuffed by Hangula, Judge Muller summarised some of the evidence.The Judge said he accepted that Hangula and the father of her sons had problems in their relationship and that Hangula blamed him for deserting her and her children and for her health problems.He also accepted that the way she perceived the world as a result of these feelings had an impact on her judgement and decision-making.However Hangula’s solution could not be accepted, Judge Muller said.In his opinion the real reason for Hangula’s conduct was feelings of rage and revenge against the man who had deserted her.Although Hangula’s personal circumstances could not be ignored, the emphasis in sentencing should be on the expectations of society, Judge Muller said.”No mother as a member of society will accept the right that (Hangula) assumed for herself to decide over the life or death of her own children for whatever reason.”Society expected that this type of family murder should be declared unacceptable in the strongest terms, he said.Deputy Prosecutor General Heidi Jacobs conducted the prosecution against Hangula, who was represented by defence lawyer Frieda Kishi.Hangula has been in custody since her arrest on the day of the incident.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!