Panga murderer put behind bars for 35 years

KAMANJAB panga killer Stanley Danster has been sent to jail for 35 years.

Judge Sylvester Mainga sentenced Danster (25) in the High Court in Windhoek on Friday. He had convicted Danster on charges of murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and assault by threat on Wednesday.Danster was on trial in the High Court on a charge of murdering his girlfriend, 21-year-old Kalina Kambahepa, in a ferocious panga attack at Kamanjab on March 28 2004.He further faced two counts of attempted murder, based on allegations that he tried to also kill two men who had gone to Kambahepa’s house during the deadly attack to investigate cries for help they heard coming from the premises.On those two charges, Judge Mainga was not convinced that the panga-wielding Danster had intended to kill either of the two men, and he convicted Danster on charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and assault by threat.He sentenced Danster to a 35-year prison term on the murder charge, 18 months’ imprisonment on the charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and a one-year jail term on the charge of assault by threat.The last two sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the sentence on the murder charge.During his trial, Danster claimed he acted in self-defence when he hit Kambahepa only once with a panga in response to a sudden attack that he said she had launched against him.His version was however rejected by the Judge.Eyewitness testimony from people who told the court they had seen him hit Kambahepa repeatedly with a panga – also directing blows to the back of her head when she had already been felled and was lying on her stomach on the ground outside her room – helped the Judge arrive at that conclusion.During a post-mortem examination of Kambahepa’s remains, about a dozen cut wounds were observed on her body, the court heard during the trial.Four of these were at the lower part of the back of her head, which was close to having being severed from her neck.Kambahepa “was executed in a cold-blooded and callous manner, without any provocation”, Judge Mainga commented during sentencing.The killing was not carried out on the spur of the moment, but was planned and premeditated, with the court having heard testimony that Danster had made remarks earlier on the day of Kambahepa’s death that he was going to kill her and then commit suicide, the Judge also noted.Kambahepa had her nightdress on when she was attacked, and she was either already in bed or on her way to bed when the attack took place, the Judge noted.She had been defenceless, but still tried to ward off the attack, injuries found on her arms and hands also showed, he added.She had tried to flee from Danster, who continued with the attack on her when she fell down, the Judge continued.Danster, “holding the panga with both hands chopped her on the neck and head several times to an extent that she was almost beheaded and the brains were visible”, he also recounted testimony that was heard during the trial.Not a single expression of regret or contrition was heard from Danster when he testified in his own defence during the trial.He did not testify in mitigation of sentence, and when his defence lawyer, Louis Karsten, addressed the court on his behalf on the sentence that was to be imposed, no expressions of remorse from Danster’s side were relayed to the court either.The manner in which Danster committed the murder by hitting Kambahepa with the panga until she was almost beheaded, characterised Danster as dangerous and cruel, and the society that he ordinarily lived in, as well as society at large, need to be protected from him, Judge Mainga said.Kambahepa had been killed because of a strained love relationship, and Danster “most probably was overwhelmed by the fact that he was rejected” by her, he added.It is appalling that “simple stupid reasons which do not warrant taking away so precious a thing as life” are sometimes the reasons for murders in Namibia, the Judge also commented.The crime of murder, especially executed through the use of pangas and knives, is so rampant in Namibia that it may be time that people guilty of such crimes should be locked up for life, he indicated.Karsten represented Danster on instructions from the Directorate of Legal Aid.Deputy Prosecutor General Heidi Jacobs represented the State during the trial.He had convicted Danster on charges of murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and assault by threat on Wednesday.Danster was on trial in the High Court on a charge of murdering his girlfriend, 21-year-old Kalina Kambahepa, in a ferocious panga attack at Kamanjab on March 28 2004.He further faced two counts of attempted murder, based on allegations that he tried to also kill two men who had gone to Kambahepa’s house during the deadly attack to investigate cries for help they heard coming from the premises.On those two charges, Judge Mainga was not convinced that the panga-wielding Danster had intended to kill either of the two men, and he convicted Danster on charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and assault by threat.He sentenced Danster to a 35-year prison term on the murder charge, 18 months’ imprisonment on the charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and a one-year jail term on the charge of assault by threat.The last two sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the sentence on the murder charge. During his trial, Danster claimed he acted in self-defence when he hit Kambahepa only once with a panga in response to a sudden attack that he said she had launched against him.His version was however rejected by the Judge.Eyewitness testimony from people who told the court they had seen him hit Kambahepa repeatedly with a panga – also directing blows to the back of her head when she had already been felled and was lying on her stomach on the ground outside her room – helped the Judge arrive at that conclusion.During a post-mortem examination of Kambahepa’s remains, about a dozen cut wounds were observed on her body, the court heard during the trial.Four of these were at the lower part of the back of her head, which was close to having being severed from her neck.Kambahepa “was executed in a cold-blooded and callous manner, without any provocation”, Judge Mainga commented during sentencing.The killing was not carried out on the spur of the moment, but was planned and premeditated, with the court having heard testimony that Danster had made remarks earlier on the day of Kambahepa’s death that he was going to kill her and then commit suicide, the Judge also noted.Kambahepa had her nightdress on when she was attacked, and she was either already in bed or on her way to bed when the attack took place, the Judge noted.She had been defenceless, but still tried to ward off the attack, injuries found on her arms and hands also showed, he added.She had tried to flee from Danster, who continued with the attack on her when she fell down, the Judge continued.Danster, “holding the panga with both hands chopped her on the neck and head several times to an extent that she was almost beheaded and the brains were visible”, he also recounted testimony that was heard during the trial.Not a single expression of regret or contrition was heard from Danster when he testified in his own defence during the trial.He did not testify in mitigation of sentence, and when his defence lawyer, Louis Karsten, addressed the court on his behalf on the sentence that was to be imposed, no expressions of remorse from Danster’s side were relayed to the court either.The manner in which Danster committed the murder by hitting Kambahepa with the panga until she was almost beheaded, characterised Danster as dangerous and cruel, and the society that he ordinarily lived in, as well as society at large, need to be protected from him, Judge Mainga said.Kambahepa had been killed because of a strained love relationship, and Danster “most probably was overwhelmed by the fact that he was rejected” by her, he added.It is appalling that “simple stupid reasons which do not warrant taking away so precious a thing as life” are sometimes the reasons for murders in Namibia, the Judge also commented.The crime of murder, especially executed through the use of pangas and knives, is so rampant in Namibia that it may be time that people guilty of such crimes should be locked up for life, he indicated.Karsten represented Danster on instructions from the Directorate of Legal Aid.Deputy Prosecutor General Heidi Jacobs represented the State during the trial.