Ex-varsity grave digger ‘a mental patient’
Family in shock ahead of reburial
The family of the man accused of exhuming his father's remains from a grave said he suffers from mental illness, which caused him to drop out of university.
Tuyeimo Haidula
EENGOLO
It was a sombre day when the family of Hango Tuyeni watched the police exhume his remains from his grave yesterday after they were allegedly dug up by his son, Tuyeni Reinhold.
At first glance, one would think there was a funeral being held at the Eengolo cemetery. But Tuyeni was buried four months ago after he died on 13 May.
Omusati police spokesperson Commissioner Moses Simaho said he died after he was stabbed twice by Hifile Auwanga with a knife, once to his right upper shoulder and once below his left ear. He died at the scene.
Reinhold (25) told his family he has been hearing voices telling him to dig up his father’s remains since early August. He went to the cemetery to dig up the grave and allegedly removed the left jaw from the body, which he burned a few metres from the grave.
This is according to his mother and the deceased’s widow, Anna Aindongo. The incident left the family in shock and the entire village at a loss for words.
Yesterday morning, police officers exhumed the remains in order to establish which parts were missing and whether they indeed belonged to the deceased.
The left jaw and parts of the forehead were missing. The burned body parts were found by police after the suspect informed them where he left them. The family requested that the police keep the exhumed remains until a new coffin is bought for a reburial on Friday.
Refused to take meds
Speaking to Namibian Sun shortly after the incident, Aindongo said her son is a “mental patient” who refused to take his medication, even though they encouraged him to do so many times.
She said Reinhold informed her at the beginning of August that he was struggling to sleep and kept hearing voices telling him to go to his father’s grave and dig up his remains.
“We didn’t think much of what he kept saying but I decided he must go back to Omakange so he can be calmer there,” the soft-spoken woman said.
Emilia Aindongo, the suspect’s aunt, said not once did they think he would do something as horrific as digging up the grave.
She mentioned that Reinhold was enrolled for a bachelor of chemistry degree at the University of Namibia in 2018, but fell ill and had to drop out and return home.
“This is the time his mental illness started. He came home and enrolled at the Oshakati campus for public health. But he didn’t get better. He failed his modules and couldn’t get any more funding so he dropped out of school.”
Burn it all down
The suspect’s aunt said there was a time when he would burn down Marula trees in the field and would not stop until he destroyed them all.
Reinhold was not feeling well in August and his illness had started to worsen again, she said, so he left Omakange – where his parents had sent him in hopes of stopping him from burning down more trees.
She narrated that she recently attended a wedding and asked her own children to keep an eye on Reinhold while she was gone.
That same night, she saw him carrying a mahangu flour bag. In it, he had a spade, two strong ropes and a hammer.
She asked him about it and he said it belonged to the neighbours.
“The following day I went with him to the wedding and he was still fine. He then later said ‘meme, let me tell you the truth. The items you saw me with, I am planning to go and dig out my father’s grave’,” Emilia recalled.
She told Namibian Sun Reinhold then explained the function of each tool, explaining that he would use the spade to dig, the ropes to lift the coffin out of the grave and matches to burn the coffin.
“This is so huge, and I am struggling to comprehend everything. After he did what he did, he came to my house. I am still in shock. I have no words,” she said before breaking down in tears.
Conducting own defence
“We have been urging him to drink his medication. Even his lecturers were worried because they can see he is a bright student, but he said no,” Emilia said.
She added that if one were to see him engaging with people, he looks normal and one would not be able to see that he suffers from severe mental illness.
Reinhold appeared in the Outapi Magistrate’s Court where he stated that he would conduct his own defence. He was denied bail. His case has been postponed to 3 November.
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EENGOLO
It was a sombre day when the family of Hango Tuyeni watched the police exhume his remains from his grave yesterday after they were allegedly dug up by his son, Tuyeni Reinhold.
At first glance, one would think there was a funeral being held at the Eengolo cemetery. But Tuyeni was buried four months ago after he died on 13 May.
Omusati police spokesperson Commissioner Moses Simaho said he died after he was stabbed twice by Hifile Auwanga with a knife, once to his right upper shoulder and once below his left ear. He died at the scene.
Reinhold (25) told his family he has been hearing voices telling him to dig up his father’s remains since early August. He went to the cemetery to dig up the grave and allegedly removed the left jaw from the body, which he burned a few metres from the grave.
This is according to his mother and the deceased’s widow, Anna Aindongo. The incident left the family in shock and the entire village at a loss for words.
Yesterday morning, police officers exhumed the remains in order to establish which parts were missing and whether they indeed belonged to the deceased.
The left jaw and parts of the forehead were missing. The burned body parts were found by police after the suspect informed them where he left them. The family requested that the police keep the exhumed remains until a new coffin is bought for a reburial on Friday.
Refused to take meds
Speaking to Namibian Sun shortly after the incident, Aindongo said her son is a “mental patient” who refused to take his medication, even though they encouraged him to do so many times.
She said Reinhold informed her at the beginning of August that he was struggling to sleep and kept hearing voices telling him to go to his father’s grave and dig up his remains.
“We didn’t think much of what he kept saying but I decided he must go back to Omakange so he can be calmer there,” the soft-spoken woman said.
Emilia Aindongo, the suspect’s aunt, said not once did they think he would do something as horrific as digging up the grave.
She mentioned that Reinhold was enrolled for a bachelor of chemistry degree at the University of Namibia in 2018, but fell ill and had to drop out and return home.
“This is the time his mental illness started. He came home and enrolled at the Oshakati campus for public health. But he didn’t get better. He failed his modules and couldn’t get any more funding so he dropped out of school.”
Burn it all down
The suspect’s aunt said there was a time when he would burn down Marula trees in the field and would not stop until he destroyed them all.
Reinhold was not feeling well in August and his illness had started to worsen again, she said, so he left Omakange – where his parents had sent him in hopes of stopping him from burning down more trees.
She narrated that she recently attended a wedding and asked her own children to keep an eye on Reinhold while she was gone.
That same night, she saw him carrying a mahangu flour bag. In it, he had a spade, two strong ropes and a hammer.
She asked him about it and he said it belonged to the neighbours.
“The following day I went with him to the wedding and he was still fine. He then later said ‘meme, let me tell you the truth. The items you saw me with, I am planning to go and dig out my father’s grave’,” Emilia recalled.
She told Namibian Sun Reinhold then explained the function of each tool, explaining that he would use the spade to dig, the ropes to lift the coffin out of the grave and matches to burn the coffin.
“This is so huge, and I am struggling to comprehend everything. After he did what he did, he came to my house. I am still in shock. I have no words,” she said before breaking down in tears.
Conducting own defence
“We have been urging him to drink his medication. Even his lecturers were worried because they can see he is a bright student, but he said no,” Emilia said.
She added that if one were to see him engaging with people, he looks normal and one would not be able to see that he suffers from severe mental illness.
Reinhold appeared in the Outapi Magistrate’s Court where he stated that he would conduct his own defence. He was denied bail. His case has been postponed to 3 November.
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