Hoeseb guilty of murder
A resident of Otjiwarongo was found guilty of murder, attempt to defeat the course of justice and theft in the incident relating to the death of a 26-year-old woman whose partly burnt body was in October 2015 found on the outskirts of town.
The court however found the 32-year-old Ivan Hoeseb not guilty on the counts of rape, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The partly burnt body of Elizabeth Ganses, 26, was found at Otjiwarongo on 31 October and Hoeseb was charged with murder, robbery, rape, violation of a dead body and an attempt to defeat or obstruct the course of justice by burning the body.
Judge Christie Liebenberg in his judgment Thursday concluded that Hoeseb's plea of not guilty to the charge of violating a dead body by setting it on fire, is consistent with a guilty mind that was caught out.
“He had sufficient reason to destroy the evidence. Burning was intended to destroy the evidence,” he emphasised.
The judge stressed that Hoeseb had no intention to report the case which is consistent with a guilty mind.
Hoebeb had admitted he strangled Ganses but fell and was unconscious and couldn't tell how long he held her, and when he regained his consciousness, he said he fled the scene.
“It is a fabrication and therefore the court rejected the version as false. His fall played no material role as to the cause of the deceased's death,” the judge said, and added that the forensic evidence pointed to the continued and uninterrupted application of force on the neck of the deceased as he strangled her.
Hoeseb at first pleaded guilty to all the charges but he later admitted only to killing her. He pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape, stealing his victim's mobile phone and setting the deceased's body alight.
Deputy Commissioner Moses Khairabeb said Hoeseb was arrested at Okaepe village in the Okakarara constituency.
He was apparently found in possession of a mobile phone that had belonged to Ganses. Hoeseb confessed to police that he had killed Ganses and added that before the incident, he and Ganses were socialising at a bar in the DRC informal settlement. They then had sexual intercourse nearby, and that he gave her N$400 as payment.
Hoeseb also allegedly told the police that while he and Ganses were on their way to a nightclub, Ganses's boyfriend called her and told her to go home and sleep, after which Ganses decided not to proceed to the club. He allegedly insisted that they have sex again, but a fight erupted during which he strangled Ganses and later raped her, removed some of her clothes and set her lifeless body alight.
He confessed to the police that he had killed Ganses after she had told him she was HIV positive. He said Ganses only told him that after they had had sexual intercourse three times without any protection. He also admitted that he strangled her for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until her body was motionless.
Hoeseb when called by his defence lawyer, Milton Engelbrecht, asked for forgiveness from the family of the deceased.
He said while in prison he asked his aunt to speak to the family of the deceased but that she was afraid.
“I accept the court ruling. I am very sorry for what I did,” Hoeseb said from the dock.
However State prosecutor Henry Muhongo argued that the accused's professed remorse is not genuine.
He said in the wave of violent crime engulfing the country the court should emphasise deterrence in sentencing.
FRED GOEIEMAN
The court however found the 32-year-old Ivan Hoeseb not guilty on the counts of rape, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The partly burnt body of Elizabeth Ganses, 26, was found at Otjiwarongo on 31 October and Hoeseb was charged with murder, robbery, rape, violation of a dead body and an attempt to defeat or obstruct the course of justice by burning the body.
Judge Christie Liebenberg in his judgment Thursday concluded that Hoeseb's plea of not guilty to the charge of violating a dead body by setting it on fire, is consistent with a guilty mind that was caught out.
“He had sufficient reason to destroy the evidence. Burning was intended to destroy the evidence,” he emphasised.
The judge stressed that Hoeseb had no intention to report the case which is consistent with a guilty mind.
Hoebeb had admitted he strangled Ganses but fell and was unconscious and couldn't tell how long he held her, and when he regained his consciousness, he said he fled the scene.
“It is a fabrication and therefore the court rejected the version as false. His fall played no material role as to the cause of the deceased's death,” the judge said, and added that the forensic evidence pointed to the continued and uninterrupted application of force on the neck of the deceased as he strangled her.
Hoeseb at first pleaded guilty to all the charges but he later admitted only to killing her. He pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape, stealing his victim's mobile phone and setting the deceased's body alight.
Deputy Commissioner Moses Khairabeb said Hoeseb was arrested at Okaepe village in the Okakarara constituency.
He was apparently found in possession of a mobile phone that had belonged to Ganses. Hoeseb confessed to police that he had killed Ganses and added that before the incident, he and Ganses were socialising at a bar in the DRC informal settlement. They then had sexual intercourse nearby, and that he gave her N$400 as payment.
Hoeseb also allegedly told the police that while he and Ganses were on their way to a nightclub, Ganses's boyfriend called her and told her to go home and sleep, after which Ganses decided not to proceed to the club. He allegedly insisted that they have sex again, but a fight erupted during which he strangled Ganses and later raped her, removed some of her clothes and set her lifeless body alight.
He confessed to the police that he had killed Ganses after she had told him she was HIV positive. He said Ganses only told him that after they had had sexual intercourse three times without any protection. He also admitted that he strangled her for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until her body was motionless.
Hoeseb when called by his defence lawyer, Milton Engelbrecht, asked for forgiveness from the family of the deceased.
He said while in prison he asked his aunt to speak to the family of the deceased but that she was afraid.
“I accept the court ruling. I am very sorry for what I did,” Hoeseb said from the dock.
However State prosecutor Henry Muhongo argued that the accused's professed remorse is not genuine.
He said in the wave of violent crime engulfing the country the court should emphasise deterrence in sentencing.
FRED GOEIEMAN
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