Jandre Dippenaar, the first ever Namibian to be found guilty on charges of murder in the aftermath of a fatal motor vehicle collision, was sentenced to spend the next 15 years in prison.
The extraordinary sentence was meted out after Magistrate Gaynor Paulton convicted Dippenaar on six counts of murder, one count of reckless and negligent driving and a count of driving a vehicle without a valid driving licence in the Swakopmund Regional Court in June.
Concerning the count of reckless and negligent driving the magistrate ordered that Dippenaar should pay a fine of N$8 000 and concerning the charge of driving a vehicle without a valid driving licence he was ordered to pay a fine of N$2 000.
While reading out the convicted person’s sentence, Magistrate Paulton stated that the six counts of murder would be viewed as a single offence and ordered a 15-year custodial sentence.
The sentencing of Dippenaar marks the end of a decade-long trial that set a new legal precedent in Namibian Law with regard to the prosecution of reckless and negligent drivers.
Report: Niël Terblanché
