Africa-Press – Namibia. A PENSIONER from the Hardap region who killed his stepdaughter’s husband in a shooting during a domestic quarrel near the end of 2014 is guilty of murder, a judge ruled in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday.
The 73-year-old Jan Bruwer is now being held in custody, after judge Orben Sibeya cancelled his bail following the delivery of the judgement in Bruwer’s trial.
The judge convicted Bruwer on a charge of murder, committed with a direct intention to kill, and two counts of assault, after rejecting his claim that he acted in self-defence when he shot the husband of his stepdaughter, Henry Noble Mouton (43), three times at Schlip, between Rehoboth and Mariental, on 29 November 2014.
Mouton was shot after he had been called to the house where Bruwer and his wife, Renette Bruwer, who was the mother of Mouton’s wife, lived. Mouton had been called to the house following an altercation during which Bruwer had slapped Renette Bruwer.
Mouton’s wife and daughter had also become involved in the domestic dust-up, during which Bruwer slapped his wife’s granddaughter in the face as well. When Mouton arrived at the house, Bruwer was packing his belongings, having announced that he would be moving out.
On entering a room in the house where Bruwer was, Mouton asked him why he had hit his wife and remarked that as an older person, he was supposed to set an example, the court heard. Bruwer had his 9mm pistol with him at the time.
He told Mouton he would shoot him, and when Mouton replied “shoot, uncle Jan”, Bruwer lifted the gun, aimed it at Mouton and shot him in the abdomen, Mouton’s daughter, who was present during the incident, testified.
Mouton fell to the floor, and Bruwer then shot him in the abdomen a second time, before he walked closer to him and fired his pistol for a third time, shooting Mouton in the chin.
Sibeya said in his judgement that Bruwer appeared to be selective about what he could recall about the incident, struggled to explain why he said he felt threatened by Mouton, and made an impression as not being a credible witness.
On Bruwer’s own version, he could not have believed that Mouton, who was unarmed, would attack him, the judge remarked. With the shots directed at vulnerable parts of Mouton’s body, Sibeya concluded that Bruwer had a direct intention to kill him.
Bruwer, who is being represented by defence lawyer Winnie Christians, is scheduled to return to court for a presentencing hearing on Thursday next week (2 September). State advocate Ethel Ndlovu is prosecuting.
