witness to explain how life sentences are administered in Namibia. All life sentences in Namibia can be set aside after as little as ten years, and the nature and severity of the committed crimes are not factors weighed by the prison authorities in considerations of early release. Multiple life terms count as one. For the sentences in the Kareeboomvloer mass murder case the Deputy Prosecutor therefore specifically asked not to impose a sentence of life imprisonment but to set definite periods. Judge President Petrus Damaseb followed the prosecution's request and handed out some of the longest prison terms in Namibian history. The Beukes brothers were sentenced to a combined total of 670 years in jail. Several concurrent sentences led to an effective prison term of 105 years for Sylvester Beukes, and 84 years for Gavin Beukes. Damaseb remarked about the case: "[Y]ou tortured your victims and committed crimes the likes of which I hope I will not [again] have the misfortune to preside over during the remainder of my judicial career. [...] You truly are an embodiment of evil." The likely motive for the killings was revenge with respect to the farm owners, and doing away with witnesses. Justus Erasmus had previously fired Sylvester Beukes, and laid theft charges against him. Beukes emerged from the Kalkrand police station in December 2004, three months prior to the massacre, where he was in custody for the charges brought by Erasmus. The claim that Beukes was contracted by the farmer's son was dismissed by the judge as not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Sylvester Beukes' testimony contained a number of contradictions and unlikely claims, most prominently that Shorty Erasmus had offered to pay for his legal representation in the murder case—paying for the defense of his parents' murderer would inevitably have implicated him. Shorty Erasmus was thus acquitted of having contracted the murders. Stoney Neidel was found guilty of theft and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced to an effective six years of imprisonment. References 2000s murders in Namibia 2005 in Namibia Massacres in 2005 March 2005 events in Africa