Burglars strike Swakopmund missionary house again

THE Evangelical Lutheran Church’s (ELC) missionary house in Swakopmund has been burgled twice recently – this time while eight missionaries were fast asleep in the house.

Exactly five years ago in March 2007, burglars forced their way into the house while Finnish missionary Marja Rosilo had gone to Windhoek on business. When she returned to Swakopmund, she found that the house, which is situated in Vineta, had been ransacked.About two weeks ago, burglars struck again.This time, ELC missionaries from Namibia and Angola were sleeping in a ‘rest house’ while the burglars managed to find their way into the house and stole some valuables. The occupants were unaware of what was happening around them.According to Maija Kuoppala, she woke up at around 05h00 and went to the kitchen when she noticed that the kitchen window’s burglar bars had been forced open.’I then realised someone must have broken in while we were sleeping. I immediately woke the others up and realised that some items were missing,’ she said.Two laptops with valuable research and teaching information related to church activities were stolen, as well as a handbag that contained personal documents, a mobile phone, a camera and about N$1 000 cash.’The burglars entered the one lady’s room while she was asleep and took the handbag that was right next to her on the bedside-drawer,’ she explained.They immediately called the police and security, and the handbag and personal documents were discovered, discarded in the neighbour’s yard. The cash, laptops, mobile phone and camera were gone though.According to the police, it seemed as if the burglars had been watching and waiting behind a bush before they struck.’The biggest loss is the work on the laptops, and we have no backups. But we are just grateful that we are all safe. It could have been different,’ she said.