A Windhoek resident who claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed his girlfriend with a knife on Christmas Day in 2021, has been found guilty of murder.
In a judgement delivered in the Windhoek High Court on Friday, judge Herman January concluded that Henok Negodhi (45) had a deliberate intention to kill his then girlfriend, Ndapandula Imene (38), when he stabbed her in their house at Windhoek’s Mix settlement on 25 December 2021.
January noted that Imene was stabbed 16 times with a knife. She was stabbed three times in the chest and five times in the abdomen.
Three children witnessed a part of the attack on Imene, which took place during the early morning hours.
One of the children told the court he had seen Negodhi placing a knife under a pillow in the room he shared with Imene a couple of hours before the fatal attack on her was carried out, January recounted.
Considering that evidence, Negodhi planned the attack on Imene beforehand, January concluded.
During his trial, Negodhi gave different accounts of the incident during which Imene was fatally injured.
Testifying in his own defence, he at first denied that he stabbed her, before telling the court he stabbed her three times and finally saying he stabbed her twice.
Negodhi claimed he was defending himself against an attack by Imene when he stabbed her.
He also claimed Imene tried to stab him first, and that she may have sustained some injuries while he was wrestling with her to get a knife out of her hands.
According to Negodhi, Imene argued with him after he questioned her about where she had been the previous day, when she left their home without informing him where she was going.
Negodhi said he and Imene had been involved in a relationship for 13 years.
The three children who witnessed the incident were sleeping in a room next to Imene’s bedroom when they were awoken by screams, the judge heard during the trial.
The children – one of them a son of Negodhi and Imene – testified that they saw Negodhi sitting on Imene, who was lying on her back on her bed, stabbing her repeatedly.
One of the children tried to pull Negodhi off Imene, but he continued to stab her while making a remark that she disrespected him, January recounted in his judgement.
Even if Negodhi’s version of events was accepted, “it is evident that after grabbing the knife from [Imene], the purported threat was neutralised, eliminating any imminent threat to [Negodhi]”, January said.
He also noted that, instead of assisting Imene, Negodhi fled after the stabbing.
“[Negodhi’s] conduct during and after the stabbing, the number of wounds inflicted, the seriousness and the location where those wounds were inflicted and the lethal weapon used suggest a deliberate intention,” January concluded.
Negodhi has been held in custody since his arrest a day after the murder.
He has to return to court on 2 December for a presentence hearing.
Negodhi was initially represented by defence lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji, who withdrew from the trial in July this year, due to conflicting instructions from his client.
After Siyomunji’s withdrawal, Negodhi chose to continue with the trial without legal representation.
State advocate Anna Amukugo is representing the prosecution.
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