Matheus Hamutenya
Keetmanshoop-Five people died in //Kharas Region over the weekend from either stabbings or car accidents.
In the first incident, a 42-year-old man was stabbed to death by another man in broad daylight in front of shocked shoppers at Pep store in Keetmanshoop’s 5th Avenue.
It is alleged the suspect stabbed the victim, whose age is unknown, with a knife in the neck after being insulted.
//Kharas acting crime investigations coordinator, Detective Chief Inspector Coleen Brandt, informed New Era that the deceased’s next of kin had not yet been informed, while she did not rule out the possibility that both the deceased and suspect were under the influence of alcohol.
“We do suspect that alcohol had a role to play, but we are not sure at this stage,” she said.
In another killing, a 39-year-old man, identified as Jan Blokstaan, was stabbed to death on Saturday at Ileni informal settlement at Keetmanshoop after he attempted to stop a fight between two boys aged 15 and 17 years. One of the boys stabbed Blokstaan in the neck with a knife and he died on the spot.
The incident happened at a family house and one of the boys is a nephew of the deceased.
The suspects in the two cases were arrested and will appear in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court today.
Meanwhile a car accident at Keetmanshoop on Saturday night claimed two lives and injured one after the driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned on the B1 T-junction.
One of the passengers died on the spot, while the driver died in an ambulance that was rushing him to Windhoek for medical attention. The other passenger who was injured was in a stable condition. Both deceased were 24 years of age.
In a separate incident on Saturday morning, a police officer died after he lost control of his vehicle and it overturned on the Bethanie-Aus road. He died on his way to hospital.