Cattle herder discovers human skeleton at Otamanzi

A routine cattle grazing trip took a turn when a herder discovered one of his animals chewing a bone, leading to the discovery of a human skeleton at Onkaankaa village in the Otamanzi area last week.

According to Onkaankaa village headman Muno Iiyambo, the incident occurred in a grazing area known as Okalugwenya, a section of the village reserved mainly for grazing livestock.

“A curious cattle herder saw one of his animals chewing a bone. When he looked around, he saw the skull of a person as well as a backbone and clothes. He then informed us, and we informed the police,” Iiyambo says.

He says the discovery has left his community in shock, with residents struggling to understand how human remains ended up in an area frequently used for grazing.

The police in the Omusati region have since launched an investigation, but the identity of the deceased remains unknown.

Omusati regional police commander commissioner Ismael Basson says forensic processes are underway to determine both the identity of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding the death.

“We really want to identify the bones. The bones appear to be recent, not so long ago, maybe not even more than a year,” Basson told The Namibian on Wednesday.

He added that the area has a history of missing-person cases and appealed to the public to assist with the investigation.

“We are calling on the public who know a person who went missing in that area to come forward. For example, we have advisers to contact for DNA because the DNA must be taken now,” he said.

According to the police, the remains, consisting of a skull and other bones believed to be human, were discovered in bushes last Thursday.

In a police report on Monday this week, the police confirm that items of clothing, including a pair of blue jeans suspected to be linked to the remains, were recovered from what investigators believe to be the primary scene.

The remains and clothing have since been transported to the Okahao police mortuary to assist in determining both the identity of the deceased and the cause of death.

Iiyambo says there have been recent cases of missing persons reported in nearby areas, raising concerns that the remains could be linked to one of them.

He says one person went missing from a cattle post at Onambiga in December last year, and has not been found.

Police investigations into the matter continue.

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