Multiple rapes, fatal crashes and suicides over weekend
Toddler (1) drowns
Namibia endured a devastating wave of violence, fatal crashes, drug arrests and sexual assaults over the weekend, with police describing the three days as one of the most disturbing in recent months.
A troubling spate of rapes, also involving minors, was reported to police over the weekend.
At Oshihenge village near Oshakati, a 34-year-old man allegedly returned home drunk from a cuca shop in the early hours of Friday and, after reportedly attacking his 66-year-old mother with a panga, dragged a 10-year-old Angolan girl into his room and raped her.
Police arrested the suspect immediately.
In the Kavango West region, later that morning, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly followed, grabbed and dragged into the bush at Mukundu village by two men who are accused of then raping her. Both suspects were arrested.
Rehoboth was, according to the weekend police crime report, the scene of a particularly gruesome domestic episode early Friday when 26-year-old George Haubab allegedly killed a man he found with his former girlfriend, stabbed the woman multiple times and then turned the knife on himself.
He died on the scene, while both surviving victims remain in critical condition at a Windhoek hospital. The police said neighbours awoke to screams but fled when Haubab allegedly threatened them with the knife.
The police are also investigating suicides.
In King Nehale, a 26-year-old individual reportedly took their own life on Saturday, while in Rehoboth, a 22-year-old man was found in his room shortly after midnight on Sunday after having taken his own life.
In a tragic accident on Friday night in Otjinene, a one-year-old toddler, Ndaitavela Leninia, drowned in a bucket of water while playing inside the house, with no foul play suspected.
In Ondangwa, a 43-year-old man, Lotriet Tiaan, was found dead in his bedroom on Sunday morning; he reportedly suffered from a medical condition. Earlier on Friday in Aussenkehr, 45-year-old farmworker Matias Shilyomunhu collapsed at work after complaining of chest pains and was declared dead at the company clinic.
Drugs
Even as police dealt with violent assaults and accidental deaths, drug enforcement operations recorded arrests across the south and central regions, with cases reported in Warmbad, Noordoewer, Tsumkwe, Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Klein-Aub, and Otjiwarongo. At Noordoewer, officers seized bullets of cannabis and cash totalling N$16 750 from a 30-year-old man following a body and room search.
A 70-year-old man was arrested along the C24 near Klein-Aub with six bankies of skunk cannabis concealed on his body.
Fatal crashes
The deadliest incident occurred on Friday afternoon when three women were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the B1 between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja. According to police, a Mercedes-Benz allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic in slippery conditions and smashed head-on into an Isuzu double cab, before a Toyota Corolla following behind also collided with the wreckage.
The victims were identified as 57-year-old South African national Christina Maria Prinsloo, 80-year-old Namibian pensioner Chirise Steyen, and 21-year-old Namibian woman Jana Grove. A 20-year-old South African woman survived with serious injuries. Namibian Police Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the next of kin had been informed.
The weekend closed with yet another fatal crash when 41-year-old Johannes Jager died on Saturday afternoon after the vehicle he was travelling in overturned on the C13 gravel road near Aus following a tyre burst. Four other occupants survived the crash.
A troubling spate of rapes, also involving minors, was reported to police over the weekend.
At Oshihenge village near Oshakati, a 34-year-old man allegedly returned home drunk from a cuca shop in the early hours of Friday and, after reportedly attacking his 66-year-old mother with a panga, dragged a 10-year-old Angolan girl into his room and raped her.
Police arrested the suspect immediately.
In the Kavango West region, later that morning, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly followed, grabbed and dragged into the bush at Mukundu village by two men who are accused of then raping her. Both suspects were arrested.
Rehoboth was, according to the weekend police crime report, the scene of a particularly gruesome domestic episode early Friday when 26-year-old George Haubab allegedly killed a man he found with his former girlfriend, stabbed the woman multiple times and then turned the knife on himself.
He died on the scene, while both surviving victims remain in critical condition at a Windhoek hospital. The police said neighbours awoke to screams but fled when Haubab allegedly threatened them with the knife.
The police are also investigating suicides.
In King Nehale, a 26-year-old individual reportedly took their own life on Saturday, while in Rehoboth, a 22-year-old man was found in his room shortly after midnight on Sunday after having taken his own life.
In a tragic accident on Friday night in Otjinene, a one-year-old toddler, Ndaitavela Leninia, drowned in a bucket of water while playing inside the house, with no foul play suspected.
In Ondangwa, a 43-year-old man, Lotriet Tiaan, was found dead in his bedroom on Sunday morning; he reportedly suffered from a medical condition. Earlier on Friday in Aussenkehr, 45-year-old farmworker Matias Shilyomunhu collapsed at work after complaining of chest pains and was declared dead at the company clinic.
Drugs
Even as police dealt with violent assaults and accidental deaths, drug enforcement operations recorded arrests across the south and central regions, with cases reported in Warmbad, Noordoewer, Tsumkwe, Keetmanshoop, Mariental, Klein-Aub, and Otjiwarongo. At Noordoewer, officers seized bullets of cannabis and cash totalling N$16 750 from a 30-year-old man following a body and room search.
A 70-year-old man was arrested along the C24 near Klein-Aub with six bankies of skunk cannabis concealed on his body.
Fatal crashes
The deadliest incident occurred on Friday afternoon when three women were killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the B1 between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja. According to police, a Mercedes-Benz allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic in slippery conditions and smashed head-on into an Isuzu double cab, before a Toyota Corolla following behind also collided with the wreckage.
The victims were identified as 57-year-old South African national Christina Maria Prinsloo, 80-year-old Namibian pensioner Chirise Steyen, and 21-year-old Namibian woman Jana Grove. A 20-year-old South African woman survived with serious injuries. Namibian Police Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the next of kin had been informed.
The weekend closed with yet another fatal crash when 41-year-old Johannes Jager died on Saturday afternoon after the vehicle he was travelling in overturned on the C13 gravel road near Aus following a tyre burst. Four other occupants survived the crash.
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