A young man who killed his father in a panga attack in the Ohangwena region in September 2021 has been sentenced to a prison term of 22 years, after admitting guilt on a charge of murder.
The only reason that Fillipus Natangwe Robert (22) gave for the killing of his father, Absalom Robert (62), was that Robert Sr had told him he was not Robert Jr’s biological father, judge Duard Kesslau said during the sentencing of Robert Jr in the Oshakati High Court on Friday last week.
Robert Jr was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act.
He admitted that he murdered his father by striking him repeatedly with a panga at Shuulula, a village in the Eenhana district, on 18 September 2021. During the sentencing, Kesslau remarked that Robert Jr “attacked and killed his own father in the most gruesome manner by hacking at him with a panga”.
The judge added: “The last living moments of [Robert Sr] were spent while being attacked by his son with an extremely dangerous weapon.”
Robert Sr “must have died an excruciating, painful death”, he said as well.
During a presentence hearing, Robert Jr’s mother told the court his father had nine children and that he and Robert Jr had a peaceful relationship.
She also described Robert Jr as a well-disciplined child, and could not shed any light on the reason for the murder, which she witnessed, Kesslau recalled.
Robert Jr spent two years and five months in custody before he was sentenced.
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