Staff Reporter
HIGH Court Judge Claudia Claasen sentenced Arnold Khamseb (50), who was found guilty of the murder of his ex-lover, Sylvia Gorases (47), to life imprisonment. He stabbed her to death in front of their minor children on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2019.
Judge Claasen, in addition to this, sentenced Khamseb to 27 years’ imprisonment for the rape of a 20-year-old woman. In her sentencing, Claasen stressed that the onslaught of offences perpetrated against women needs to be eradicated and that it cannot be business as usual, as it is incumbent upon the courts to protect the most vulnerable in society, which include women and children. “It is now time to stop Mr Khamseb,” Claasen said before handing down the weighty sentences.
Khamseb will thus serve 25 years’ imprisonment for the murder of his ex-lover before having the chance to appeal the life sentence, and a further 27 years on the rape conviction.
VIDEO: Convicted killer and rapist Arnold Khamseb.
The State alleged that Khamseb murdered Gorases, with whom he had a daughter, by stabbing her in the neck, and also allegedly stabbed the brother of Gorases who came to her assistance during the assault. The State further alleged that Khamseb broke into a house or room at Khorixas during the early morning hours of 7 July 2018 and then raped a 20-year-old woman. Khamseb had been out on bail on the rape charge and allegedly killed his ex-lover Gorases after she had threatened to testify against him in the rape case.
While he was found not guilty on the count of assault against the brother of the deceased, he was found guilty on the murder and rape charges.
Claasen said that during testimonies, the family expressed that the deceased, Gorases, was a pillar of strength to everyone, and her loss impacted various generations in the family. She added that what was aggravating was that the accused committed the murder in front of the deceased’s children, aged seven and nine, and that they would carry this horrendous memory for a lifetime.
The judge added that the loss of a mother of minor children is an irrevocable, brutal and unnecessary act, and that the accused had cut the deceased’s jugular in front of her two minor children and had thereafter fled the scene, and had continued to celebrate Christmas and family day with his family and close friends, with the knowledge that he had left two minor children to deal with their fatally injured mother alone at home.
In terms of the rape conviction, Claasen said that the rape survivor suffered immense psychological trauma and tried to commit suicide after the act, but had been rescued by a social worker and psychologist who had offered to give her free counselling sessions.
The judge added that the court is not convinced that Khamseb expressed genuine remorse, and that it was proven by the State that the accused had four previous convictions, which include a prior rape conviction from 2000 for which he had served 15 years.
The judge added that Khamseb’s personal circumstances, which include pre-trial detention of up to two years and being a breadwinner for his children and blind mother, are outweighed by public interest and the seriousness of the offences.
