Man runs riot, burns down 2 houses, torches car, incinerates luckless pig

TWO brick houses were torched at Omeege village near Oshakati on Tuesday morning after a man allegedly set his own house on fire before moving on to one belonging to his elder brother.

A pig and a car locked up in a garage attached to one of the houses were also destroyed, the suspect’s brother, Helbert Thomas, told The Namibian yesterday. The suspect has not been arrested yet.Both houses were located in traditional homesteads, but no other buildings caught fire.”This is terrible,” said the Councillor for Oshakati East constituency, Lot Kuushomwa, when he arrived at the scene yesterday morning.The Namibian was told that the suspect, who reportedly works at the Rural Development Centre at Ongwediva, had allegedly been drinking at a cuca shop beforehand.According to his wife, Victoria Tomas, she and her five children ran out of the house when he came home – allegedly intoxicated.”When he came into the house, he switched on the lights and started looking into the rooms looking for us.We were just sitting at our mahangu threshing ground in our field when he came in,” she said.She said when her husband could not find anyone in the house, he collected bunches of thatching grass and took them inside.Later they saw the building was on fire and her husband was nowhere to be found.”I just started screaming so that the neighbours could come to help us,” Victoria said.The suspect had apparently gone to his mother’s homestead and allegedly set fire to his brother Helbert’s house as well.Relatives watching television in an adjacent house came out when they smelled smoke, and saw the building on fire.Helbert was not at home at the time, as he works at Ongwediva and lives there most of the time.The suspect could not be reached for commentThe suspect has not been arrested yet.Both houses were located in traditional homesteads, but no other buildings caught fire.”This is terrible,” said the Councillor for Oshakati East constituency, Lot Kuushomwa, when he arrived at the scene yesterday morning.The Namibian was told that the suspect, who reportedly works at the Rural Development Centre at Ongwediva, had allegedly been drinking at a cuca shop beforehand.According to his wife, Victoria Tomas, she and her five children ran out of the house when he came home – allegedly intoxicated.”When he came into the house, he switched on the lights and started looking into the rooms looking for us.We were just sitting at our mahangu threshing ground in our field when he came in,” she said.She said when her husband could not find anyone in the house, he collected bunches of thatching grass and took them inside.Later they saw the building was on fire and her husband was nowhere to be found.”I just started screaming so that the neighbours could come to help us,” Victoria said.The suspect had apparently gone to his mother’s homestead and allegedly set fire to his brother Helbert’s house as well.Relatives watching television in an adjacent house came out when they smelled smoke, and saw the building on fire.Helbert was not at home at the time, as he works at Ongwediva and lives there most of the time.The suspect could not be reached for comment