Staff Reporter
HIGH Court judge Dinah Usiku has sentenced Jakob Makatan, a man accused of stoning his girlfriend to death, to 27 years’ imprisonment.
He was also slapped with an additional three years for count two, defeating or obstructing the course of justice. However, this sentence will run concurrently with the murder sentence of 27 years.
Makatan, at the start of his trial, pleaded not guilty to a count of murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act 4 of 2003 and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
At the time of the deceased’s death, she was involved in a domestic relationship with Makatan, as they were in an actual or perceived intimate or romantic relationship.
During the night of Friday, 19 November 2021, or the early morning hours of Saturday, 20 November 2021, Makatan and the deceased were on their way on foot to a village called Otjongue, situated in Aminius. As they were walking, Makatan assaulted the deceased by hitting her multiple times with a stone on her head as well as on her body, causing the deceased to die as a result of the injuries she sustained, which caused intracranial bleeding. In his attempt to defeat and/or obstruct the course of justice, the accused burnt the deceased’s body or part thereof with fire and/or dragged the deceased’s body a distance away from a footpath and dumped it and hid it under or behind bushes or shrubs.
In her sentencing, Judge Usiku said that the prevalence of these crimes in our country requires courts to impose sentences that would have an effect on deterring like-minded criminals and also reassure law-abiding citizens that they will be protected.
Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: File
