Suspect convicted of ex-girlfriend’s murder

THE killing of a pregnant woman in Windhoek in September 2008 was carried out in a ‘horrific and chilling manner’, High Court Judge Collins Parker remarked yesterday when he found the woman’s former boyfriend guilty on a charge of murder.

In a judgement delivered in the High Court in Windhoek, Judge Parker convicted former construction company employee Johannes Kandjengo (38) of murder with a direct intention to kill.Kandjengo was accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Johanna Peingeshiwa Mandume (27), at a shebeen in the Hakahana area of Katutura on September 4 2008.Mandume was about three months pregnant when she was killed.Kandjengo pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder at the start of his trial on April 11.Testifying in his own defence during the trial, he claimed Mandume had slapped him first and then wanted to hit him with a piece of wood on the day of the incident. He claimed they wrestled over control of the piece of wood, and that she then lost her balance and fell to the ground, with him falling on top of her.She apparently hit her head against a rock when she fell to the ground, he claimed.Kandjengo’s testimony was in conflict with testimony delivered by alleged eyewitnesses who were also at the scene.The three eyewitnesses told the court they saw Kandjengo launch an attack on Mandume. He hit her with the piece of wood and also struck her with rocks. According to the one witness, Kandjengo was sitting on top of Mandume where she lay on the ground when he struck her on the head with a rock. According to one of the other witnesses, he hit her on the head with a rock while she was still standing.The court was told that Mandume was involved in a relationship with another man, who was also a pastor in a church.Judge Parker concluded that Kandjengo was ‘consumed by jealousy’ over the fact that the pastor had replaced him in the heart and affections of Mandume.Two of the eyewitnesses had no axe to grind with Kandjengo, and also told the court that they knew Kandjengo as a good person and that they were surprised when he launched the assault on Mandume, the judge noted.One of these witnesses, Fransina Mwiila, described the ‘horrific and chilling manner’ in which Kandjengo killed Mandume, Judge Parker said.He recounted: ‘Fransina described the spine-chilling and macabre way in which (Kandjengo) hit (Mandume) repeatedly on her head with a stone as he sat on Mandume who lay face-down on the ground, until deceased drew in her last breath, made a horrifying groaning sound, and then gave up the ghost.’Judge Parker said he found the eyewitnesses’ testimony to have been trustworthy, and was satisfied that the truth had been told.Kandjengo has remained in custody since being arrested on the day of the incident.His case is scheduled to return to court on June 29 for the hearing of arguments before his sentencing.State advocate Ethel Ndlovu is prosecuting. Kandjengo is being represented by defence lawyer Edwin Coetzee.