Keetmanshoop Regional Court Magistrate, Frans Anderson on Tuesday sentenced a 28-year-old man who was convicted of murder, to 15 years imprisonment.
The man, Edmund Coetzee initially was charged with murder, however he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of culpable homicide and was found guilty and convicted on the charge of culpable homicide.
Coetzee was convicted for killing Romeo Frederick, who was 20 years old, after he fatally stabbed him with a broken bottle on his neck. The incident happened in July 2016 at a bar in Keetmanshoop. Coetzee was also 20 years old when he committed the crime.
Coetzee is currently serving year eight of a 16-year sentence on another murder charge. In this preceding case, Coetzee and four friends were charged with murder and robbery after they stabbed, chopped and stoned Elton Riekert, causing his death in 2014. Coetzee pleaded guilty to the murder charge and was sentenced in January 2017 while the State’s case with the other accused persons continues to date.
Handing down
his judgement Tuesday, Anderson said the loss of a human life even by way of a negligent act on the side of an accused person is without doubt a sad and very tragic happening, adding that no sentence will ever restore the loss of a life and the relatives of the deceased person will have to live with the pain occasioned by the untimely death of their relative for the rest of their natural lives.
‘The use of knives and bottles to settle disputes is notoriously prevalent in the area of jurisdiction of our court. The court takes judicial notice of this fact, this clearly calls for a deterrent sentence, to deter the accused and would-be offenders. Knife and bottle neck-wielding offenders are keeping the Namibian populace hostage. This situation calls for an urgent intervention by our courts. Appropriate sentences to underscore the heinousness of these crime are the only tools to the disposal of our courts,’ said Anderson.
The magistrate said the offence and the interest of society clearly outweigh the personal c
ircumstances of the accused.
Anderson said of the 15 years imprisonment, five years of the sentence will run concurrently with the sentence that Coetzee is serving. With the 10 years added to Coetzee’s sentence, he will only come out in 2043 at the age of 46.
The State was represented by Abel Manyando while Coetzee was represented by legal aid lawyer, Stephan Coetzee.
Source: The Namibia News Agency