THE murder of Magdalena Stoffels robbed Namibia of a quiet, but hardworking young woman, whose future looked bright.
‘She was a bright, bright girl. She was a particularly quiet child and very hardworking. She had so much potential for a good future,’ Dennis Fredericks, former principal of Dawid Bezuidenhout High School, said yesterday.
Stoffels, whose voice broke at the memory of his former pupil, said she was academically very committed. ‘A lovely child.’
He confirmed that Stoffels leaves behind an older brother and her parents.Stoffels, whose life was brutally snuffed out yesterday, was recently elected to be a peer group leader for blood donation, and had attended several workshops as a result, in the last few weeks. Fredericks, and a teacher, said Stoffels got on well with class mates and was part of a closeknit group of friends.Fredericks described the loss of Stoffels as ‘heartbreaking, simply heartwrenching’. He said the crime should be a serious eye-opener for the City of Windhoek to provide safe passage for pupils, who often cross the river bed to school.’This is not the first time students have been exposed to crime in the river bed, in terms of robbery and violent attacks,’ he said.He said quite a number of people in the area cross the riverbed and possible solutions to the problem include building a bridge across the river, increasing Police presence during mornings and afternoons and creating awareness.Fredericks confirmed that pupils at the school are reeling from shock and the school closed early yesterday. Police will address children at the school tomorrow.Elmira Abrahams, Stoffels class teacher, sounded shocked when she spoke to The Namibian.’My class is very close to each other. The students are heavily affected by the entire incident,’ she said.She too said that Stoffels was a quiet and reserved girl, who was exceptionally hardworking.She said many children had been exposed to the scene of the crime and were in deep shock.
