Okahandja: The Windhoek High Court: On Monday sentenced 25-year-old John Mutirua to an effective 44 years' imprisonment after convicting him on charges including murder, rape, attempted murder, robbery, and attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the convictions stem from offences committed between 2018 and 2023. The murder charges relate to the deaths of 19-year-old Meno Tjizera and 37-year-old Albertus Maasdorp, who were killed in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

The court heard that Mutirua stabbed and killed Tjizera on 30 October 2020 while they were attending a wedding as guests. On the same night, he also slashed another guest in the face and stabbed him in the neck. In July 2023, Mutirua killed Maasdorp in Gobabis before robbing him and his girlfriend. The court further found that he fled the scene and disposed of the knife in an attempt to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.

Mutirua was also convicted of raping a boy and a girl in 2018. During sentencing, State Prosecutor Maria Shilongo argued for a severe sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Makapa Simasiku noted that Mutirua's criminal history reflected an escalation from the age of 16 to serious violent offences, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery, showing a clear disregard for human life and a readiness to use lethal force with little provocation. 'His actions caused irreversible harm, including the deaths of Albertus Maasdorp and Meno Tjizera, devastating their families, while his conduct in committing and attempting further violent acts reveal that he poses a serious and ongoing danger to society,' Simasiku said.

The judge also found that Mutirua showed no genuine remorse. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the two murder counts, four years' imprisonment on each of the two attempted murder counts, three years for robbery, 12 months for attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, 15 years for each of the two rape counts, and eight years for attempted rape.

The court ordered that the robbery, attempted murder, and defeating the course of justice sentences run concurrently with one of the attempted murder sentences. One of the murder sentences was also ordered to run concurrently with the other murder sentence, while the attempted rape sentence and one rape sentence will run concurrently with the first rape sentence. As a result, the effective sentence is 44 years' imprisonment.

Mutirua was represented by defence lawyer Ileni Velikoshi.