Two Mariental residents convicted of murdering a close family member in April 2021 were sentenced to effective prison terms of 20 years and 15 years, respectively, at the conclusion of their trial in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.
Judge Philanda Christiaan sentenced Hendrik le Roux (61) to 25 years’ imprisonment, of which five years are suspended for a period of five years, starting at his release from custody, while his son, Borris le Roux (31), was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years, of which five years are also suspended for a period of five years, starting at his release from prison.
The two men were found guilty on a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, on 3 October.
Christiaan found them guilty of murdering Carlos le Roux (23), who was a son of Hendrik and younger brother of Borris, at their home at Mariental on 9 April 2021.
Carlos died of a head injury after he had been assaulted by his father and brother, who beat him with pieces of a hosepipe, Christiaan found when she convicted the two men.
Hendrik played a leading role and instigated the assault on his son, the judge also found.
Carlos “had long suffered from mental instability compounded by substance abuse”, Christiaan recounted during the sentencing on Friday.
“His erratic and often violent behaviour had strained the family to its limits. Repeated attempts by the accused to obtain assistance from the police, hospitals and social services yielded no sustainable relief. The household had become a place of tension, fear and exhaustion,” Christiaan summed up the situation in the Le Rouxs’ home before the fatal assault was carried out.
On the morning the assault occurred, a confrontation erupted again, leading to the assault on Carlos.
“The assault was severe and persistent,” Christiaan said.
“By sunrise, Carlos was lifeless. What happened was not a case of premeditated malice, but the result of years of desperation, frustration and emotional breakdown within a fractured home.”
Christiaan remarked at the start of her sentencing judgement: “The principles of peace, restraint and forgiveness within the family are among the highest moral duties of human society. When anger is met with anger and wrong is repaid with wrongdoing, harmony gives way to destruction. The law, like conscience, rejects retaliation as a means of resolving domestic conflict. It calls for restraint, lawful intervention and compassion, even in the face of provocation.”
In the Le Roux household, however, “frustration and despair gave rise to violence that claimed the life of a son and brother”, she noted.
During their trial, Hendrik and Borris both told the court the beating meted out to Carlos was not an assault but an attempt to “discipline” him.
On this point, Christiaan commented: “The concept of discipline, particularly within a family, can never extend to the deliberate infliction of harm that endangers life.”
She added: “The brutality of the injuries leaves no room for doubt that this was not corrective chastisement but a sustained beating that crossed the threshold from discipline to cruelty.”
Christiaan also stated: “The court must send a clear and unambiguous message to those who might be tempted to resort to violence in moments of anger, frustration or perceived provocation. Human life is sacred, and no grievance, emotion or domestic dispute can ever justify its unlawful taking. Those who choose violence as a means of resolving conflict must know that the courts will respond with firmness and resolve.”
The two accused were represented by defence lawyer Peru Liebenberg during their trial.
State advocate Ethel Ndlovu prosecuted.
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