Cause of Mabula’s death established

A BLOW to the back of the head appears to have killed Juanita Mabula, Police investigators have concluded.

An examination of Mabula’s head showed that she sustained a blow to the back of the head, presumably with a blunt object, Chief Inspector Hieronymus Goraseb, Commanding Officer of the Police’s Public Relations and Liaison Division, said yesterday. “This is presumed to be the cause of death,” Goraseb said.Mabula’s head was found next to the Windhoek-Rehoboth main road on Monday, a month after the rest of her body had been discovered next to the Western Bypass road in Windhoek.While the discovery of the head presented the detectives investigating Mabula’s death with a breakthrough in their probe, no suspects had been arrested by yesterday.Goraseb said a N$20 000 reward is still being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person, or persons, responsible for killing Mabula.Mabula would have turned 22 on October 2, a week after her beheaded body was found on the morning of September 25.She had last been seen alive near a Windhoek nightclub, Chez Ntemba, some time between 03h00 and 04h00 on that same Sunday morning.A farmer in the Rehoboth area discovered the head by chance on Monday while cutting grass to use as fodder for his animals.At this stage, the Police believe it is likely that the head was left at the place where it was found just after the murder or shortly afterwards, Goraseb said.The plastic bag the head was wrapped in could have slowed the process of decomposition, he said.Mabula’s relatives were still able to identify the head on Tuesday because it was only partially decomposed.The Police will have DNA tests done to definitely link the head to the rest of Mabula’s body, Goraseb added.By yesterday, Mabula’s family had not yet made arrangements to bury the head with the rest of her body, which was interred at Mariental two weeks after her death.They were still waiting for the Police to complete their forensic investigations, an aunt of Mabula, Joey Swartz, said.”This is presumed to be the cause of death,” Goraseb said.Mabula’s head was found next to the Windhoek-Rehoboth main road on Monday, a month after the rest of her body had been discovered next to the Western Bypass road in Windhoek.While the discovery of the head presented the detectives investigating Mabula’s death with a breakthrough in their probe, no suspects had been arrested by yesterday.Goraseb said a N$20 000 reward is still being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person, or persons, responsible for killing Mabula.Mabula would have turned 22 on October 2, a week after her beheaded body was found on the morning of September 25.She had last been seen alive near a Windhoek nightclub, Chez Ntemba, some time between 03h00 and 04h00 on that same Sunday morning.A farmer in the Rehoboth area discovered the head by chance on Monday while cutting grass to use as fodder for his animals.At this stage, the Police believe it is likely that the head was left at the place where it was found just after the murder or shortly afterwards, Goraseb said.The plastic bag the head was wrapped in could have slowed the process of decomposition, he said.Mabula’s relatives were still able to identify the head on Tuesday because it was only partially decomposed.The Police will have DNA tests done to definitely link the head to the rest of Mabula’s body, Goraseb added.By yesterday, Mabula’s family had not yet made arrangements to bury the head with the rest of her body, which was interred at Mariental two weeks after her death.They were still waiting for the Police to complete their forensic investigations, an aunt of Mabula, Joey Swartz, said.