Schoolgirl murder suspect testifies

THE attack in which a 17-year-old, pregnant Windhoek schoolgirl, Ipula Akwenye, was killed by the father of her unborn child in early 2003, happened without reason, the young man accused of murdering her testified in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.

On the afternoon of the second day of his trial before Judge Kato van Niekerk, murder suspect Lungile Mawisa (21) went into the witness box to, for the first time since his arrest on January 31 2003, tell a court what had happened during the night that Akwenye was killed. Akwenye, by then four and a half months pregnant with a child that Mawisa has admitted fathering, died during the early morning hours of January 29 2003.She sustained fatal head injuries when she was beaten, allegedly with a wooden pickaxe handle, and then allegedly also stoned with three heavy rocks.On Wednesday, when Mawisa’s trial started before Judge Van Niekerk, Mawisa admitted that he had killed her.He however also claimed that he did not have an actual recollection of having attacked Akwenye.A psychiatrist has come to a conclusion that he had suffered from an episode of temporary insanity, or a condition called “sane automatism”, at the time of the incident, Mawisa informed the court in a written plea explanation.He and Akwenye were talking about her pregnancy and their relationship with each other at the scene where the killing later took place, he told the court yesterday.He said he had a pickaxe handle with him as a means of protection for the both of them.He also had a small bottle of brandy with him, of which he drank about half, he said.Mawisa said he had suggested to Akwenye that she should have an abortion to end her pregnancy, but she wanted to keep the baby.During their meeting in a patch of veld next to Bach Street in Windhoek West, Akwenye was telling him that she loved him, Mawisa said.The feeling was not mutual, though, and he told her that he was not feeling the same way about her, he said.Their conversation soon turned emotional and became heated, he said.”She said she had only my best interests at heart, and she hated the fact that I didn’t care about her,” he related.Akwenye also told him that she sometimes felt like committing suicide, Mawisa claimed.”I told her that she could so whatever she wanted to do, and that would be her business, not mine.And I told her that I was sick and tired of being treated like a small child by her,” he testified.His defence counsel, Jan Wessels, asked: “At that stage, were you angry? “Yes I was,” Mawisa replied.He continued with his testimony: “At that stage when I made those remarks she got extremely angry, and at that point she started insulting me.”She called me a selfish bastard, that I was nothing but a faggot.And I retaliated by also insulting her.I told her that she should f*@# off and that she was nothing but an emotional parasite.”The argument still escalated from there, with Akwenye later telling him that she felt that he hated the fact that she was pregnant with his child.She also called him a son of a whore, told him that she hated him, and then told him that the unborn child was not his in any event.Then she pushed him, and he fell over something that was behind him, Mawisa said.He was holding the pick handle in his hands at that stage, he said.”I got up and was really angry.And the next thing I remember is that Ipula was lying on the ground and that there was blood.She was covered with blood,” he continued.He has no recollection of having attacked Akwenye, Mawisa said.However, having found himself standing next to her where she was lying on the ground, while he held a bloody pick handle in his hands, the only conclusion that he could come to was that he had hit her, Mawisa added.”Sometimes, sometimes if I dream, then I’ll dream about what happened,” he also told the court.”I’ll be dreaming that I hurt Ipula, but other than that, no.Other than that, I do not have a recollection.”He described his thoughts after he had found himself standing next to the bloodied Akwenye: “I was confused.I didn’t know what was going on.I didn’t know what to do.Thoughts were running around in my head.I left.”Mawisa concluded with his evidence in chief yesterday.State advocate Sandra Miller is set to start testing his evidence under cross-examination when the trial continues today.Akwenye, by then four and a half months pregnant with a child that Mawisa has admitted fathering, died during the early morning hours of January 29 2003.She sustained fatal head injuries when she was beaten, allegedly with a wooden pickaxe handle, and then allegedly also stoned with three heavy rocks.On Wednesday, when Mawisa’s trial started before Judge Van Niekerk, Mawisa admitted that he had killed her.He however also claimed that he did not have an actual recollection of having attacked Akwenye.A psychiatrist has come to a conclusion that he had suffered from an episode of temporary insanity, or a condition called “sane automatism”, at the time of the incident, Mawisa informed the court in a written plea explanation.He and Akwenye were talking about her pregnancy and their relationship with each other at the scene where the killing later took place, he told the court yesterday.He said he had a pickaxe handle with him as a means of protection for the both of them.He also had a small bottle of brandy with him, of which he drank about half, he said.Mawisa said he had suggested to Akwenye that she should have an abortion to end her pregnancy, but she wanted to keep the baby.During their meeting in a patch of veld next to Bach Street in Windhoek West, Akwenye was telling him that she loved him, Mawisa said.The feeling was not mutual, though, and he told her that he was not feeling the same way about her, he said.Their conversation soon turned emotional and became heated, he said.”She said she had only my best interests at heart, and she hated the fact that I didn’t care about her,” he related.Akwenye also told him that she sometimes felt like committing suicide, Mawisa claimed.”I told her that she could so whatever she wanted to do, and that would be her business, not mine.And I told her that I was sick and tired of being treated like a small child by her,” he testified.His defence counsel, Jan Wessels, asked: “At that stage, were you angry? “Yes I was,” Mawisa replied.He continued with his testimony: “At that stage when I made those remarks she got extremely angry, and at that point she started insulting me.”She called me a selfish bastard, that I was nothing but a faggot.And I retaliated by also insulting her.I told her that she should f*@# off and that she was nothing but an emotional parasite.”The argument still escalated from there, with Akwenye later telling him that she felt that he hated the fact that she was pregnant with his child.She also called him a son of a whore, told him that she hated him, and then told him that the unborn child was not his in any event.Then she pushed him, and he fell over something that was behind him, Mawisa said.He was holding the pick handle in his hands at that stage, he said.”I got up and was really angry.And the next thing I remember is that Ipula was lying on the ground and that there was blood.She was covered with blood,” he continued.He has no recollection of having attacked Akwenye, Mawisa said.However, having found himself standing next to her where she was lying on the ground, while he held a bloody pick handle in his hands, the only conclusion that he could come to was that he had hit her, Mawisa added.”Sometimes, sometimes if I dream, then I’ll dream about what happened,” he also told the court.”I’ll be dreaming that I hurt Ipula, but other than that, no.Other than that, I do not have a recollection.”He described his thoughts after he had found himself standing next to the bloodied Akwenye: “I was confused.I didn’t know what was going on.I didn’t know what to do.Thoughts were running around in my head.I left.”Mawisa concluded with his evidence in chief yesterday.State advocate Sandra Miller is set to start testing his evidence under cross-examination when the trial continues today.