Bar owner gets 18-year prison term for murder

A Windhoek bar owner, who shot his friend after a fight, has been sentenced to a prison term of 18 years on a charge of murder.

Moses Salatiel (42) received the sentence at the end of his trial in the Windhoek Regional Court on Friday.

During his sentencing, magistrate Esme Molefe said Salatiel acted out of revenge when he shot Hafeni Kambonde (30) at Salatiel’s bar in the Greenwell Matongo area of Windhoek on 2 November 2019.

Molefe noted that Salatiel and Kambonde were friends and that a physical fight between the two men, which was started by Kambonde, had ended before Salatiel shot Kambonde from a distance of between three and four metres.

Kambonde was shot in the abdomen. He died in a hospital in Windhoek three days after the shooting.

During his trial, Salatiel claimed he had acted in self-defence when he shot Kambonde. The magistrate rejected this defence and found him guilty on charges of murder and possession of a firearm without a licence two weeks ago.

The court was informed during a presentence hearing last week that Salatiel is a father of seven children and that three of his children were living with him before he was found guilty.

Molefe sentenced Salatiel to 18 years’ imprisonment on the murder charge and a jail term of two years on the count of possession of a firearm without a licence. She ordered that the two-year jail term will run concurrently with the sentence on the murder charge.

Molefe also ordered that Salatiel is prohibited from possessing a firearm for five years after he has served his sentence.

Public prosecutor Emma Mayavero represented the state.

Salatiel was represented by legal aid lawyer Tuna Nhinda.