A planned protest demanding justice for Ingrid Maasdorp (5), who was raped and murdered at Okahandja last month, has been postponed to make way for the town’s upcoming 2025 Okahandja Tourism and Trade Expo.
Okahandja mayor Beatrice Kotungondo says the municipality has been unfairly criticised by residents and Ingrid’s family over its handling of the planned demonstration.
“People are not thinking straight,” she told Desert FM this week in response to claims that the municipality is prioritising the trade expo.
She confirmed that the protest was postponed to 6 May after the conclusion of the five-day expo.
Kotungondo said the expo is one of the town’s biggest annual events, with planning dating back to last year – before Ingrid’s killing.
“We were at the scene the very day Ingrid’s body was found. The council supported the family financially and emotionally during the memorial. We even offered to donate a grave,” she said.
Tensions have been simmering at the town since Ingrid’s grandmother, Dolly Maasdorp (54), accused the municipality of sidelining the protest in favour of the expo, scheduled to take place at the town’s sport stadium.
Kotungondo, however, denied that the municipality has blocked any demonstration.
“Nobody is prohibited from demonstrating. We only wanted to coordinate one unified protest after the expo to avoid chaos and ensure public safety.
“That date was agreed on with the group leaders, but later we were told the family no longer wanted the municipality’s involvement,” she said.
Katungonda said her office initially invited all protest organisers to consolidate their efforts into a single peaceful march that would also call for greater police visibility, mobile police stations, and a crackdown on crime at the town.
“We are not the enemy. The point of the demonstration should be to demand that the police catch the culprits, not to fight the municipality,” she said.
‘IGNORED’
The Maasdorp family, however, has since distanced itself from any municipality-led efforts, saying they feel their voices are being ignored.
Dolly grandmother, who has raised Ingrid since birth, this week said the family is losing faith in the police, with the alleged perpetrator still at large more than a month after the killing.
She said the child was dropped off at KW von Marees Combined School on the morning of 20 March, but did not return home.
Two days later, Ingrid’s body was discovered in a river bed under a bridge – battered and bearing signs of sexual assault.
“We searched everywhere. When we couldn’t find her, we rushed to the police to report her missing,” Dolly told The Namibian.
The family’s frustration deepened after a classmate of Ingrid’s claimed to have seen her being picked up that morning by a tall, light-skinned woman wearing a bonnet.
The child reportedly gave this account to both teachers and the police on the evening Ingrid went missing and again the next morning.
“But the police said the boy was too young to give reliable information,” Dolly said.
“That doesn’t make sense. How could a small child give such a clear and consistent description twice if it wasn’t true?”
The family, along with some teachers, later visited a woman in the area who matched this description.
They described her behaviour as suspicious as she allegedly refused to let them in, while displaying signs of nervousness.
They also noticed a bonnet matching the one the boy described hanging on her washing line.
However, no arrest has been made to date.
“It feels like they’re waiting for us to forget. But how do you forget something like this? She was only five years old,” Dolly said.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi last week confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.
“In this regard, the initial report shared was a missing persons report until the body was discovered. An investigation into this matter was launched since and is ongoing.
“Cases of rape, murder and defeating the course of justice are being investigated and suspects are being pursued,” she said.
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