An enraged, delusional Somalian war refugee who murdered an innocent mum-of-four during a brutal, “random, gratuitous and unprovoked” street knife attack has today been jailed for at least 13 years.
Zakariye Hussein, 37, pleaded guilty in September to killing Laisa Tunidau Waka as she walked home from work on June 25.
Hussein was an inpatient at Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch and had 10 years earlier been jailed for a stabbing rampage, nearly killing a man.
Hussein was sentenced in the High Court at Christchurch by Justice Cameron Mander.
There was a packed public gallery, including Tunidau Waka’s husband and family members, to witness Hussein getting sent back to prison.
The court earlier heard a series of harrowing and emotional victim impact statements on how Hussein’s senseless killing has deeply-impacted so many people.
Her 12-year-old son Eparama Tunidau stood in court, flanked by family members, and sobbed as he paid tribute to his “loving, caring mum” who he misses every day.
He will “never forget” the day he looked outside and saw ambulances and his mother lying on the ground.
Now, he struggles to sleep, suffers nightmares, and wakes up scared.
His mother used to give him lots of hugs and comfort him in the night. He directed comments at Hussein, the “person that took my mum”, and said that he hopes he feels sorry for what he has done.
”I don’t want anyone to go through what I did,” Eparama said.”I love you mum.”
Justice Mander thanked the boy and said “well done”.
Tunidau Waka’s eldest child, her 23-year-old son, said his mother was “the most unselfish, kind, caring, considerate and compassionate person you could meet”.
A hard-working woman who always put family first and was the first to remind them of their humble beginnings.
She was a loving mum, a cherished wife of 24 years, a “strong and proud Fijian woman”, and devoted Christian, he said.
He believes he will never fully come to terms with losing his mother, the “most beautiful person in my life”.
Happiness has been replaced by sadness and the family are now “grievers and grief counsellors”, the court heard.
They often wonder if Hussein ever thinks of the impact his actions have had on so many people.
”We will surely miss her.”
Tunidau Waka’s 19-year-old daughter Sereana Tunidau said she was a “wonderful mum, a devoted wife and … the kindest person anyone could ever ask for in this world.”
“Her life was taken far too soon in a violent, malicious manner for no reason other than complete and utter selfishness.”
She felt the loss of her mum every day of her life.
“Words are terribly inadequate to describe the magnitude and depth of her loss.”
She constantly dealt with emotions of “sadness, anger, grief”.
“Most of all I’m devastated that my unborn child and any future children will never have my mum as their grandmother.”
The “horrendous act” devastated her family.
“It breaks our heart to know how terrified mum must’ve been and constantly imagine how she felt at the moment she was being attacked about to lose her life....”
She ended by saying “you will forever be known as a murderer”.
Tunidau Waka’s husband Nemani Tunidau said his wife was a “very kind person” who worked hard and was a “wonderful mother” to their four children.
The couple were married for 26 years and moved to New Zealand for a better future for their children.
On the morning of her death he dropped her off at work before going to Waimate to provide clothing and food for seasonal workers in Fiji.
He recalls their son, Eparama, calling and saying something bad happen to mum, asking his father to “please pray for her”.
“That was the worst day of my life.
“I remember going to our pastor’s house after arriving back in Christchurch being told police were there. I remember thinking why are police here? It was there I realised something really terrible had happened to my wife.
“It was there I was told by police she had been murdered. Since that day my whole world has turned upside down. I keep on asking myself why?”
He then addressed Hussein.
“To the person that killed my wife, my children’s mother. I wonder what you’re going through in your mind to kill such a loving, caring, kind person. I have so many questions about why someone who is obviously a danger to the community is allowed to walk back on the street.”
He asked Hussein be held accountable for his actions “so he can’t ever do this to someone else again”.
Justice Mander said: “I’m sure Laisa would be very proud of the courage her children have shown just now.”
A bespectacled Hussein, wearing an orange prison-issue tracksuit, sat with his head bowed and hands clasped in the dock as the court heard from his victims.
The court also heard from a leader in the Fijian community in Canterbury.
She said Tunidau Waka was a “dedicated mum” who would always be seen with her 12-year-old son Eparama by her side.
“The loss of her is indescribable.
“The pain was horrific and is still horrific, scary and haunts anyone that it can happen to anybody at any time just as it happened to Laisa.”
Tunidau Waka’s death “reminds us as woman we live in a vulnerable environment”, she said.
Crown prosecutor Barnaby Hawes said mental impairment did not mean a sentence of life imprisonment should not be imposed, adding that it should be “substantially more” than the 10-year minimum.
An important factor to consider during sentencing, Hawes said, was the issue of public protection.
Aggravating features of Hussein’s offending included an element of premeditation, use of a lethal weapon, the brutality of his crime, the vulnerability of the victim, and the fact it was an attack on an innocent member of the public “simply going about their day”.
”This was a completely random attack on an innocent victim,” Hawes said.
A report before the court said Hussein was at very high risk of reoffending.
Justice Mander went over Hussein’s upbringing and his time in Somalia.
In New Zealand, he suffered at school and it was apparent that work opportunities were “curtailed” as a result of his growing mental health issues.
Following an episode of manic depression and an attempt to commit suicide, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2006.
Thereafter he struggled with mental health.
His family was unable to cope and after he was evicted from the home, he was unemployed and homeless.
In the years following he was an inpatient as well as times in prison.
Three psychiatric reports were prepared for the criminal proceedings.
They found he was capable of being involved in inflicting violence when not acutely unwell.
He held “intense grandiose and religious beliefs”.
He believed God was going to give him money so he could buy houses and marry staff.
The clinical staff he engaged with said he had endless discussions about these beliefs.
”You demonstrated a pattern of holding grudges and frustration with hospital staff.”
On the day of the killing, he was frustrated with hospital staff, in particular, because they removed staples from a newspaper supplement advertising real estate that he had been examining and circling properties he was going to purchase.
He then left to tell his family he would not be going back to the hospital, telling himself God had given him a “hell of a sad life”.
On his way, he stopped at a library to look at the property section of a newspaper.
He reported to a doctor he then checked his bank account and saw that God had not deposited the “millions and billions” to buy property.
He felt disappointed and believed God was “torturing” him.
He then entered the family home “in a rage”.
He had thoughts of wanting to hurt someone with no person in mind.
The reports found insufficient evidence to establish he was incapable of knowing the moral wrongness of his actions.
However, there was a “clear nexus” between his significant mental illness and his offending.
Summary of facts
According to the summary of facts Hussein was granted community leave from the hospital at about 2.30pm on June 25.
He then took a bus to Sockburn and started walking to his family home.
On the way, he became angry about some issues arising at the hospital. While walking, he saw a man mowing his lawns and decided to stab him. At his family’s house, he took a steak knife from the kitchen drawer and put it in his pocket.
But as he went outside, he thought it was too close to home and did not want his own family to witness anything.
As he walked down Cheyenne St, he saw a woman walking. He took out the knife and stabbed her repeatedly around her chest as she tried to protect herself.
As well as kidnapping a pie delivery driver at knifepoint – and then almost fatally stabbing a city council worker – in the March 2012 rampage across Christchurch, in 2018 he attacked a Hillmorton Hospital nurse and poured a hot cup of black coffee over their head.
There are two reviews following the murder - one into Hussein’s care, the other into the secure unit at Hillmorton.
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