Worker convicted of double farm slaying

A FORMER farm worker who claimed that he had tried to defend himself when he shot dead two Maltahoehe area farmers in August 2001 was convicted on two counts of murder yesterday.

Having yesterday convicted Andreas Haingura of the murder of farmer Adrian Jacobus (‘At’) Liebenberg (69) and his son, Jacobus Coenraad (‘Koos’) Liebenberg, Acting Judge John Manyarara is set to sentence Haingura in the High Court in Windhoek on July 6. Also to be sentenced is Cornelius Hamunyela, who was acquitted of the double murder that took place at the farm Sandpforte, about 15 kilometres north-east of Maltahoehe, on August 29 2001, but who was found guilty of having received stolen property while knowing it to be stolen.Haingura was also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances.Both he and Hamunyela were further convicted of having stolen diesel from a Roads Contractor Company depot at Nkurenkuru in the Rundu area while Haingura was travelling around the area with a Mazda pick-up that he had stolen from the Liebenberg farm following the murders.Haingura had claimed that he shot the Liebenbergs after Koos Liebenberg had slapped him and also stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver when an answer that he gave to a question from the elder Liebenberg apparently did not seem to please the two farmers.Acting Judge Manyarara however rejected his claim of having acted in self-defence.He arrived at that judgement after pointing out that physical evidence before the court – such as the number and nature of the gunshot wounds on the victims’ bodies – contradicted Haingura’s testimony, leading the acting Judge to conclude that Haingura had lied to the court in several respects of his version of events.”This was clearly a deliberate and calculated attack on the two deceased persons, carried out with precision and a direct intention to kill,” stated acting Judge Manyarara.The motive for the killings was the intention by Haingura to rob them – not only of the Mazda bakkie, but also of an array of household items that he transported with him to the Rundu area, where he sold it.When he left the farm, Haingura left the Liebenbergs’ corpses behind where they had fallen after having been shot.He, however, covered the bodies with blankets before leaving with the stolen bakkie and the loot from the farmhouse.The murdered men’s remains were discovered by a neighbour only two days later.Hamunyela only entered the scene after Haingura had arrived in the Rundu area.There was no evidence implicating him in the murders, Acting Judge Manyarara found.Public Prosecutor Job Kozonguizi asked the acting Judge to impose long-term imprisonment on Haingura, who, he said, had clearly shown himself to be a danger to society.”I can describe this as a cold-blooded execution of two innocent lives,” Kozonguizi said when addressing the court on the sentencing.Eduard Kisting, representing both Haingura and Hamunyela, told the acting Judge that he would leave the matter of the sentence to be imposed on Haingura in the hands of the court.For Hamunyela, who has already spent almost three years in custody awaiting the finalisation of their trial, a suspended sentence would serve justice, Kisting added.The duo remain in custody until July 6.Also to be sentenced is Cornelius Hamunyela, who was acquitted of the double murder that took place at the farm Sandpforte, about 15 kilometres north-east of Maltahoehe, on August 29 2001, but who was found guilty of having received stolen property while knowing it to be stolen.Haingura was also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances.Both he and Hamunyela were further convicted of having stolen diesel from a Roads Contractor Company depot at Nkurenkuru in the Rundu area while Haingura was travelling around the area with a Mazda pick-up that he had stolen from the Liebenberg farm following the murders.Haingura had claimed that he shot the Liebenbergs after Koos Liebenberg had slapped him and also stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver when an answer that he gave to a question from the elder Liebenberg apparently did not seem to please the two farmers.Acting Judge Manyarara however rejected his claim of having acted in self-defence.He arrived at that judgement after pointing out that physical evidence before the court – such as the number and nature of the gunshot wounds on the victims’ bodies – contradicted Haingura’s testimony, leading the acting Judge to conclude that Haingura had lied to the court in several respects of his version of events.”This was clearly a deliberate and calculated attack on the two deceased persons, carried out with precision and a direct intention to kill,” stated acting Judge Manyarara.The motive for the killings was the intention by Haingura to rob them – not only of the Mazda bakkie, but also of an array of household items that he transported with him to the Rundu area, where he sold it.When he left the farm, Haingura left the Liebenbergs’ corpses behind where they had fallen after having been shot.He, however, covered the bodies with blankets before leaving with the stolen bakkie and the loot from the farmhouse.The murdered men’s remains were discovered by a neighbour only two days later.Hamunyela only entered the scene after Haingura had arrived in the Rundu area.There was no evidence implicating him in the murders, Acting Judge Manyarara found.Public Prosecutor Job Kozonguizi asked the acting Judge to impose long-term imprisonment on Haingura, who, he said, had clearly shown himself to be a danger to society.”I can describe this as a cold-blooded execution of two innocent lives,” Kozonguizi said when addressing the court on the sentencing.Eduard Kisting, representing both Haingura and Hamunyela, told the acting Judge that he would leave the matter of the sentence to be imposed on Haingura in the hands of the court.For Hamunyela, who has already spent almost three years in custody awaiting the finalisation of their trial, a suspended sentence would serve justice, Kisting added.The duo remain in custody until July 6.