Mother jumps from car, killing baby

The dust around the fatal fall of a six-week-old baby from a moving car on the main road between Stampriet and Aranos refuses to settle.

On 8 September, roughly four kilometres from Stampriet, Stephny Swartbooi, 26, jumped from a moving car with her six-week-old baby. The child died and Swartbooi suffered extensive abrasions.

While the police at Stampriet confirmed that a case of culpable homicide was opened against Swartbooi, her version of events tells a different story.

Swartbooi told Namibian Sun that she was looking for a lift from Stampriet to Aranos. According to her a car with two women stopped and offered her a ride.

“They drove for a while and after a short discussion between the two women, the older one took out a container and sprayed something in the car,” she said.

“My skin began to burn and I was feeling confused. I asked them to stop but they did not listen to me so I jumped out of the car with my child. Before I jumped out of the moving vehicle I screamed ‘I am going to die today’,” she said.

After the fall, she said the car stopped and turned around.

“I felt pain, and was weak and confused. The two women did not climb out of the car to help me,” she said.

A government car that was apparently behind them on the road and according to Swartbooi saw what happened, stopped and phoned the police.