Teen (16) raped and shot dead at farm near Otavi

A 16-year-old girl was raped and killed at a farm about 62 kilometres from Otavi on Friday night, with police searching for a 26-year-old suspect who remains at large.

Otjozondjupa police spokesperson Maureen Mbeha confirmed the incident, saying the deceased allegedly left the house at about 17:00 last Friday to relieve herself in the bush.

At approximately 18:00, her housemates reportedly heard a gunshot but did not leave the house to investigate what had happened.

The teenager did not return home, prompting a search the following morning.

Between 08:00 and 09:00 last Saturday, one of the men at the farm reportedly followed the direction in which the girl had gone the previous evening. While searching for her, he noticed what appeared to be bloodstains on a small farm road.

The blood trail reportedly led him to her body. The girl was lying on her back approximately 43 metres from the house.

The man then returned home and contacted the police.

Police search for suspect

When police arrived at the scene, officers observed blood stains on the girl’s face and other parts of her body. Two possible gunshot wounds were also observed.

Mbeha confirmed that the teenage girl had been raped.

Police said the girl was covered with a pair of white shorts believed to belong to her and a green shirt that people at the farm suspect belongs to the suspect.

Preliminary investigations established that the suspect resides on the same farm, but at a different post.

According to police, the suspect had allegedly visited another farmer at a different post on the same farm on Friday. The farmer reportedly left his house to go to a nearby dam.

When he returned, he allegedly discovered that the suspect was no longer there and that his rifle was missing.

Police said the rifle had been kept inside a shack, on top of a bed, inside a rifle bag and covered with a blanket. Upon the farmer's return, he allegedly found only the rifle bag.

The firearm is suspected to be the same rifle used in the killing.

The suspect, who is known to people at the farm, has not yet been arrested and remains on the run.

Police have launched a search for him, while investigations into the circumstances surrounding the rape and murder, as well as the missing