Samuel Shinedima
JOHANNES Hausiku, the 41-year-old man found guilty of murdering a two-year-old boy (Simon Stefanus) and two rape cases in Outjo 10 years ago, will serve 35 years in jail, after his lengthy trial was concluded last week in the High Court of Namibia.
The court pronounced that on the night of 30 to 31 May 2012, Hausiku murdered the two-year-old boy at Outjo and kidnapped, and attempted to rape the boy’s mother on that same night.
In his judgment, Judge Nate Ndeuedapo observed that murder is a very serious crime that calls for severe punishment, adding that society is crying for courts to impose more severe sentences against those who commit crimes against children and women.
“Violence against children has reached a crisis point. The boy killed by Hausiku was only two years old, was innocent and defenseless” Judge Ndauendapo noted
The convicted child killer and serial rapist, who during his pre-sentencing hearing begged for mercy from the court and asked the family and victims for forgiveness, was tried on 15 charges – made up of eight counts of rape, a charge of murder, two counts of attempted rape, two counts of kidnapping, a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances and a charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
It was also the state’s view that Hausiku had told the mother of the boy, who was under the influence of alcohol when he attacked her, that he had rescued her from a group of Angolan men who raped her. To this, the court established that the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubts and found Hausiku guilty, citing to his statement of admission made to the Outjo magistrate’s court in July 2012.
In his statement of admission, Hausiku acknowledged that he had killed the boy by stabbing him in the neck with a knife and left the boy’s body at the scene.
The body of the boy was only discovered eight days later, decomposed and mutilated.
The court further found Hausiku guilty of raping another woman at Outjo sometime at the end of January of that same year (2012), and attempted to rape another woman again, also at Outjo, a day later. He was arrested, released on bail and committed the deadly crime in May 2012, whilst out bail.
Hausiku, who has been in jail for 10 years since his arrest in June 2012, is sentenced to 35 years prison term on the count of murder, 15 years of imprisonment of each the three counts of rape, prison term of 10 years on each of the counts of attempted rape, and five years imprisonment to each of the charges of kidnapping and defeating the course of justice.
Judge Ndeuendapo further ordered that the sentences on all of the charges in exception to the count of murder will run concurrently with the sentence of the murder charge.
The State was represented by advocate Esthel Ndlovu while Hausiku was represented by Theo Carplus.
