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Thursday, February 24, 2005 - Web posted at 8:10:18 GMT Quiet Sesfontein shocked by double murder MAGGI BARNARDTHE small community of Sesfontein in the Kunene Region is reeling from the shock of a double murder at the town on Sunday. |
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Albertina Tjitana (75) and her granddaughter, Hilda Sonia Mbagu (19), were allegedly strangled by a Police Constable in their home around 11h00. Constable Ernst Elton Mukuwe (26), who has been working at the Sesfontein Police station for three years, was arrested on Monday morning. He appeared in the Opuwo Magistrate's Court yesterday on two counts of murder, as well as housebreaking with intent to commit a crime. The case was postponed to June 1 for legal aid. He will remain in custody until then. The shocked community was spurred into action after the murders and residents helped the Police search for the suspect until he was found hiding in the bushes about 10 km outside town on Monday morning. The constable and his girlfriend were allegedly having trouble with their relationship. He went looking for her at the house of the two murdered women, who were related to her. He became aggressive when he could not find her and allegedly strangled the two women with his hands. The possibility that the 19-year-old woman was raped has not been ruled out, as she was found with her panties pulled down. The approximately 1 000 residents of the town have not taken kindly to the serious crime that has disrupted the peace and quiet in their mostly quiet community. People stormed the Police station on Monday after the arrest and demanded that the suspect be handed over to them. "They wanted to take the law into their hands and do to him what he had done to the two women," said Usiel Noab, a resident. "The murders have dominated every conversation in this town since Sunday," he told The Namibian. "We do not know such serious crimes in Sesfontein. People are extremely angry, upset and shocked. They still cannot believe what happened." Noab said since the incident, children at Sesfontein have become afraid of Police officers. "Whenever they see a Policeman, they run away." The residents plan to hand over a petition to the Regional Governor, demanding that new Police officers be appointed to the Sesfontein Police station. The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has reacted to the double murder by saying the incident was further proof of the need to address the alarming rate of crime and murder in Namibian society. "Indeed, we live in a sick, traumatised and violent society characterised by moral turpitude. It does not matter if it is a Police officer, teacher, judge, Government minister, priest, traditional leader, man, woman, child or whoever. We very urgently need a soul-searching national conference to address this situation," said NSHR Executive Director Phil ya Nangoloh in a statement. |
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