By: Eba Kandovazu
Jacobus Hamaseb, 53, a former headman and current traditional Judge in the community courts at Anker Settlement, was sentenced to an effective three years after being found guilty of stock theft when he stole a cow valued at N$2,500.
Hamaseb’s intention was reportedly to sell the cow at an auction.
Outjo Magistrate Immanuel Udjombala, in sentencing Hamaseb, said that the charge is of a serious nature and that stock theft has alarmingly increased in the district Outjo by the number of cases on the roll.
“This court also takes judicial notice that this offence is not only prevalent in this district but the whole of Namibia. There is no mathematical formula on how to ascertain the appropriate sentence that must be placed on the offence of stock theft of which the value is more than N$ 500.00, but common sense dictates that an accused having committed stock theft with a value of less than N$500 should not be worse off than one who committed the offence where the value is more than N$500,” magistrate Udjombala remarked.
The magistrate has since maintained that the value of stock is crucial in sentencing. The state, represented by Vivienne Ndana, during the trial led to no previous convictions, deeming Hamaseb a first-time offender.
In mitigation before sentencing, Hamaseb informed the court that he is a father of ten children who all depend on him. Hamaseb wanted the court to instead impose a fine on him or sentence him to a suspended sentence.
“The community must be able to place their trust and faith in the courts that their interest will be given equal weight as that of the crime that has been committed and that their cry will not be placed in the shadow of the offence,” Magistrate Udjombala found.
Martha Awala represented Hamaseb.
Just recently, the Headman of Onethika A in Oshikoto region, Johannes Itope Kasita, was sentenced to two years in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s court after he slaughtered another Villager’s donkey. A year has been suspended from his sentence on condition that he is not convicted of similar offences within three years.
Kasita slaughtered the donkey at night and requested that someone assists with skinning it. In a widely circulated video, Kasita is seen with the buried hide at his homestead.
The Ondonga Traditional Authority has since condemned Kasita’s theft, adding that further steps would be taken against him.