THE man accused of killing Manfred Hartmann (78) in his Swakopmund home in August, pleaded guilty to a count of murder in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Asked by magistrate Conchita Olivier why he did it, Uaaro Mbemukenga (25) answered: “I don’t know why, or what was going on in my head at the time.”
He, however, confessed that he was aware that what he was doing was wrong. He also explained to Olivier how he murdered Hartmann on 18 August.
He allegedly worked as a gardener for the late pensioner for less than a month.
Hartmann lived alone, and the police are still trying to locate any relatives to claim his body, which is in the town’s mortuary.
According to Mbemukenga, he hit Hartmann over the head with a brick and although he noticed his victim lay motionless and that blood was seeping from the wound, he still tied Hartmann’s arms and neck with a rope.
The police found the body tied to the outlet pipe of a wash basin in an outside toilet.
“I then went from there and took a bag of clothes, a mobile phone and a laptop,” he said.
Mbemukenga fled the scene, but was arrested by the Outjo police. He was shot in the leg while trying to evade arrest.
He was recovering in the Katutura Intermediate Hospital under police custody until his first court appearance yesterday.
Olivier was satisfied with the accused’s plea and submitted it as formal evidence.
“The state is no longer required to prove evidence upon the admission,” she said.
Prosecutor Paulus Shilongo opposed bail, telling Olivier it was in the public interest, and because of the seriousness of the crime and the risk of him absconding.
He, however, does have the right to make a formal bail application.
The case was postponed to 13 November for further investigation and for Mbemukenga to apply for legal aid.
He agreed to plead without legal representation.
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