Murderer gets eighteen years

PENDING an appeal against the sentence, Keetmanshoop resident Johannes Gawab (46) will spend the next 18 years in jail for killing his lover.

Gawab shot Anna Fransina Dreyer three times in the abdomen at a house in Keetmanshoop’s Tseiblaagte residential area on November 19 2005. At the beginning of his trial Gawab pleaded not guilty, claiming that he had acted in self-defence after being attacked by Dreyer’s relatives. Sentencing Gawab to 18 years’ imprisonment for murder in the Keetmanshoop Regional Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Regional Magistrate Godwin Chizhanda described murder as a serious offence, saying there is no word to define it. ‘It takes away a human life and deprives its constitutional right to live,’ he remarked.Chizhanda added that courts therefore jealousy defend this constitutional right. He further said that domestic violence is prevalent in the region and other parts of the country, therefore a clear and unequivocal message by imposing a stiff sentence should be sent to would-be offenders and perpetrators to deter them. ‘What is clear is that the accused attacked a defenceless woman and proceeded to murder her. One is tempted to use the word execute,’ Chizhanda added.Referring to claims by the accused that the shooting was an accident, Chizhanda said there was no physical danger to Gawab when he shot Dreyer or even before the shooting. Chizhanda also sentenced Gawab on the second count of discharging a firearm in public to one year’s imprisonment, which he ordered should run concurrently with the murder sentence. In his submission, State Prosecutor Pieter Smit requested a 20-year prison sentence.He said the Domestic Violence Act was promulgated to defend women, therefore a message should be sent that violence against women cannot be tolerated.Defence Counsel Gerrit van den Heever, calling for a suspended sentence or a sentence of not more than 10 years, described the murder as a tragic accident.Following the sentencing, Van den Heever applied for bail of N$3 000 pending appeal. The hearing of the application was postponed until today. luqman@namibian.com.na