Bank official dies after inhaling oven cleaner

A SENIOR official at the Bank of Namibia has died of suspected “chemical pneumonia” after inhaling fumes from detergent she used to clean her kitchen stove.

Lena Markus, advisor to Governor Tom Alweendo, succumbed on Sunday morning to the chemical agent that forced her onto a life support system for two weeks. Markus was admitted to the hospital’s ICU (intensive care unit) on August 29 after complaining for the second time in as many days that she was struggling to breathe.Three days earlier, after cleaning her stove, she began to complain about the same symptoms.”She cleaned an oven with a chemical-based substance three days earlier …[and] inhaled it in a place that was not properly ventilated,” said Ismael Gei-Khoibeb, her close friend, who rushed Markus to hospital that Sunday.”During the process [cleaning the stove] her lungs got damaged,” said Gei-Khoibeb, adding that Markus’s disability meant that her lungs’ capacity were not well developed.Recounting what Markus had told him, Gei-Khoibeb said the diminutive Central Bank official had used a ladder to reach the stove, but that also meant that she was directly exposed to the chemical fumes from the detergent.She was first treated and then discharged.But the following day she telephoned Gei-Khoibeb who soon realised she did not sound well, and he took her to hospital, where she was immediately admitted.Despite the weeks on the life-support system, her condition did not improve.About a month ago, Markus was promoted to the Governor’s office, after returning to the Bank of Namibia after completing a Master of Science degree in finance and international banking.”It’s a big loss,” said Alweendo, adding that Markus had started implementing what she learnt at the City University in London.Before she went for studies, she was Senior Manager for Human Resources and Organisational Development, and had degrees in business administration.In 2000 she was voted Businesswoman of the Year.She was a director on the TransNamib Holdings board as well as its subsidiaries.She was born in Mariental, and leaves two sisters.Markus was admitted to the hospital’s ICU (intensive care unit) on August 29 after complaining for the second time in as many days that she was struggling to breathe.Three days earlier, after cleaning her stove, she began to complain about the same symptoms.”She cleaned an oven with a chemical-based substance three days earlier …[and] inhaled it in a place that was not properly ventilated,” said Ismael Gei-Khoibeb, her close friend, who rushed Markus to hospital that Sunday.”During the process [cleaning the stove] her lungs got damaged,” said Gei-Khoibeb, adding that Markus’s disability meant that her lungs’ capacity were not well developed.Recounting what Markus had told him, Gei-Khoibeb said the diminutive Central Bank official had used a ladder to reach the stove, but that also meant that she was directly exposed to the chemical fumes from the detergent.She was first treated and then discharged.But the following day she telephoned Gei-Khoibeb who soon realised she did not sound well, and he took her to hospital, where she was immediately admitted.Despite the weeks on the life-support system, her condition did not improve.About a month ago, Markus was promoted to the Governor’s office, after returning to the Bank of Namibia after completing a Master of Science degree in finance and international banking.”It’s a big loss,” said Alweendo, adding that Markus had started implementing what she learnt at the City University in London.Before she went for studies, she was Senior Manager for Human Resources and Organisational Development, and had degrees in business administration.In 2000 she was voted Businesswoman of the Year.She was a director on the TransNamib Holdings board as well as its subsidiaries.She was born in Mariental, and leaves two sisters.