‘I just want to see his bones’

Mother still looking for missing son three months later

When Beatus Iiyambo travelled from his village to Windhoek for the first time in January, his mother was relieved that her son finally found a job in the city. However, Iiyambo (25), who hails from Onakaheke village in the Omusati region, never returned home.

He left his village on 11 January and went missing the following day.

His last known location was Oponganda Cemetery between Katutura and Khomasdal in Windhoek.

Iiyambo, affectionately known as ‘Tuna’, had travelled to Windhoek after being offered a job by Otjomuise-based businessman Matheus Shapaka to sell kapana and work at his bar at 8ste Laan.

The police on 14 January released a missing person’s notice, appealing to the public for assistance in tracing Iyambo’s whereabouts.

Back at the village, his mother, Rauha Uugwanga (54), says all she wants is a sign that her son is still alive. She has pleaded with anyone with information to come forward.

“I think my son is dead. I just want to know where my son is.

Even if it is only his bones, I want closure,” she tells The Namibian.

Uugwanga says this was the first time Iiyambo had travelled to Windhoek.

They had always lived together at the village.

“I only sleep for an hour or two, then I am already awake,” she says.

The day after he arrived in the city, Uugwanga says she received a call from Shapaka at around 07h00, telling her that Iiyambo had arrived in Windhoek but did not sleep all night because he was allegedly hallucinating and calling out names of people from his village.

She requested to speak to her son, saying she sensed something wrong when the phone was handed to him.

“He did not sound okay, but my son does not have a mental illness. I have been with him for 26 years at the village. I know him. I have never seen him behave like that,” she told The Namibian last week.

Uugwanga said she pleaded with Shapaka to take Iiyambo to the clinic as she feared for her son’s safety. However, Shapaka reportedly said Iiyambo should go to the clinic by himself.

Later that day, Uugwanga’s sister received a call from Shapaka as well, saying that Iiyambo had left the house at around 10h00 and could not be found.

Shapaka later claimed that Iiyambo had phoned him saying he was at Goreangab Dam. The businessman allegedly sent someone to search the area, but there was no sign of the young man.

Relatives in Windhoek joined the search, moving from place to place, hoping for any sight of Iiyambo. Days turned into weeks, still, there was nothing.

Uugwanga said Iyambo’s phone has been unreachable.
“From that moment, my life changed.

I’ve had sleepless nights since and my heart has never been at peace,” she said.

The Namibian reached out to businessman Shapaka for comment and arranged to meet at his bar in Windhoek.

However, when three reporters went to the establishment, he refused to comment and referred them to the police instead.

“I already gave my statement to the police, there is nothing else to say,” he tells The Namibian.

Frans Amwaama, who drove with Iiyambo from the village, told The Namibian yesterday that Shapaka sent him to bring Iiyambo to Windhoek.

“I was sent by Shapaka to bring the boy to Windhoek and I handed him over to him.

Shapaka was also the one who paid (for his transport),” Amwaama said.

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