Judge slams male violence

“THE notion of violent masculinity has no place in an egalitarian society.

“It cannot dwell in our midst.”

These were the words of judge Claudia Claasen in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility on Tuesday, before she sentenced a man who admitted that he murdered his girlfriend at Gobabis in November 2019 to 29 years’ imprisonment.

Claasen noted during the sentencing: “Relationships among partners may be described as complex at best. Whilst the reasons or motives for the perpetration of violent acts are numerous and diverse the one common thread therein appears to be the remnants of a patriarchal system that accords more power to men than women.”

She continued that cases like that of Gobabis resident Axarob Thys, who was in the dock before her, are an example of the practice of men using their power as a tool of violence to exert control over their female partner.

Thys informed the court in a plea explanation on 12 April, when he admitted guilt on a charge of murder, read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, that he had heard on 29 November 2019 that his then girlfriend, Elfriede Afrikaner (36), had been seen with her ex-boyfriend and that she was still involved with her former beau.

He also stated that he went to a house where he had heard Afrikaner was, intending “to discipline” her. When he got to the house, he could not control his anger and stabbed Afrikaner in the chest with a piece of steel wire, Thys stated.

Afrikaner was fatally injured when the wire struck a major blood vessel in her chest.

The judge commented that in Thys’ logic Afrikaner needed to be disciplined by him. The mode of discipline that he opted for “was not reasonable, to say the least”, she remarked, adding that the authoritarian role which Thys assumed left Afrikaner with no choice to voice what she wanted at the time.

She also reminded Thys that a murder not only deprived someone of their life, but has dire consequences for the people left behind by the victim.

Afrikaner’s death changed the trajectory of the life of each of her three children, the judge remarked.

Violent masculinity has no place in an egalitarian society, and the courts would inevitably treat such violence against women “with the disdain it deserves, in the form of more severe sentences”, Claasen added.

The irony was that Thys’ fear of being abandoned by Afrikaner and his need to retain possession of her led him “to commit this angry and jealous act”, the judge also said, noting that this resulted in the loss to him of the person he did not want to lose in the first place.

Thys was held in custody for some 17 months before he was sentenced.

He was represented by defence lawyer Eliaser Shiikwa. State advocate Marthino Olivier prosecuted.