A MARIENTAL resident who carried out a series of night-time attacks on women and a man convicted of having raped and killed a pregnant woman at Tses in the //Karas region were both sentenced to life imprisonment at the end of their trials in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
Mariental night stalker Gerold Matlata became the day’s first recipient of a term of life imprisonment when judge
Christie Liebenberg sentenced him to life in prison on a charge of murder, and also to jail terms totalling 80 years on counts of rape, attempted murder, housebreaking, robbery with aggravating circumstances and theft.
With those sentences set to run concurrently with the life imprisonment, Matlata (34) is set to spend the next 25 years behind bars before prison authorities may consider releasing him on parole.
A resident of Tses, Jesajas Boois, is facing the same fate as Matlata, after he, too, was sentenced to life imprisonment on a charge of murder.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo further sentenced Boois (43), who has previous convictions for murder, arson, housebreaking and rape on his criminal record, to jail terms totalling 22 years on charges of rape, obstructing the course of justice and assault by threat.
The prison terms totalling 22 years that were handed to Boois should be served concurrently with the term of life imprisonment, judge Ndauendapo ordered.
Boois committed a brutal killing and rape of a visibly pregnant woman, judge Ndauendapo commented. He also said he could not find any appropriate sentence other than life imprisonment, where Boois would be required to serve at least 25 years in jail before having the chance of being considered for parole.
Judge Ndauendapo convicted Boois on 27 July, after finding that the prosecution proved he raped and murdered a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Bonaventura Jahs, at Tses during the night of 2-3 September 2014, and that he tried to hinder the investigation of her death by clothing her body after she had been strangled, sweeping the scene where the fatal incident took place to remove tracks on the ground, and hiding her cellphone, which he took from the scene.
The judge also found that the state proved Boois made a threat to assault his former girlfriend at Tses on 2 September 2014 by trying to hit her with a wine bottle.
Matlata admitted guilt on the seven charges on 6 September. He admitted that he broke into the homes of women who were home alone at Mariental at the end of June 2012, in February 2013, and in September 2015, and that he then attacked the women by throttling them and trying to kill his first two victims.
The woman attacked in the first incident was raped, the second woman was robbed after she managed to scream for help, and the third woman, Debora Snyman (53), was raped and murdered.
Snyman, who was a widow living alone, was attacked during the night of 18 to 19 September 2015. Matlata admitted that he surprised her in her bedroom when he sneaked up on her and that he killed her by strangling her.
Matlata remained on the loose after Snyman had been murdered until he was arrested in March 2017.
Judge Liebenberg commented that Matlata over a period of three years repeatedly preyed on women who were surprised at night in the safety of their homes, where they would have least expected to come under attack.
“Once inside the house, he subjected his victims to violent and merciless assaults,” the judge recounted. “He used brutal force against them, and was willing to kill to satisfy his sexual desires.”
On Matlata’s account in respect of the attack on Snyman, he raped a dying person, the judge also noted, before stating: “What could be more barbaric than that, one may ask?”
The only reason for Matlata’s attacks was that he wanted to rape the women he targeted – and if they put up resistance, he was prepared to kill, judge Liebenberg remarked. The way in which Matlata committed the crimes said much about his character and clearly showed he was a serious threat to society, from where he had to be removed until he learned to respect the rights of others, the judge also commented.
State advocate Marthino Olivier, assisted by deputy prosecutor general Anita Meyer, represented the state during Matlata’s trial. Defence lawyer Gert Appolus represented Matlata.
Boois, who was represented by defence lawyer Titus Mbaeva, was prosecuted by state advocate Ethel Ndlovu.
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