Man Sentenced to 27 Years for Stoning Girlfriend to Death
A 27-year prison sentence has been handed to Jakob Makatan after the High Court found him guilty of murdering his girlfriend and attempting to conceal the crime.
High Court Judge Dinah Usiku also sentenced Makatan to three years’ imprisonment for defeating or obstructing the course of justice. The three-year sentence will, however, run concurrently with the 27-year murder sentence.
The court heard that Makatan and the deceased were in an intimate or romantic relationship at the time of her death, bringing the murder under the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act 4 of 2003.
The incident happened between the night of Friday, 19 November 2021, and the early hours of Saturday, 20 November 2021, while the two were walking towards the village of Otjongue in the Aminius area.
According to the evidence before the court, Makatan attacked the woman with a stone, repeatedly striking her on the head and body. She sustained serious injuries, including intracranial bleeding, which resulted in her death.
The court further heard that Makatan attempted to conceal what had happened by burning parts of the deceased’s body and moving it away from the footpath. He then dumped and hid the body under or behind bushes.
Makatan had pleaded not guilty at the beginning of his trial to both murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Usiku noted the seriousness and prevalence of such offences in Namibia, saying courts must impose sentences capable of deterring others from committing similar crimes while reassuring law-abiding members of society that they will receive protection.
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