WALVIS BAY – The mother of a murdered five-year-old boy from Walvis Bay has laid the blame squarely on the uncaring attitude and negligence of the police in the town.
She said failure by the police to protect both her and her children from an alleged violent and abusive husband, has led to the death of Wilfred Dantani Eiseb.
The boy was killed and buried in a shallow grave in the dunes (close to the ‘Welcome to Walvis Bay’ sign), allegedly by his stepfather. A member of the community found his remains.
“I begged, pleaded and sat for hours at the Kuisebmond police station for help, but left without being taken seriously on Wednesday. I told the police that my life is in danger, and my blood would be on their hands if anything happens to me or my children,” Memory Eises (33), told New Era hours after her husband allegedly killed his stepson on Friday evening at Walvis Bay.
The stepfather was found by his family members, and handed over to the police shortly after the killing.
Eises, who is in the process of divorcing her husband, who allegedly stalked and abused her, said the police failed both her and her son.
Erongo police spokesperson Ileni Shapumba yesterday told this publication that the accusations are serious, and that the police have sanctioned an investigation. Apart from an ongoing case against her husband for abuse, she had been at the police station every day since last Tuesday looking for help.
She said her husband of three years has been making her life a living hell, but things escalated last week to such an extent that he almost burnt down their shack. That incident was reported to the police as well.
According to Eises, the suspect last year hit her with a brick on the head.
“We have an ongoing case in court due to that. He, however, did not show up for his last court appearance, and I even thought he would be re-arrested so that he can leave me in peace,” she lamented.
Eises said she went to the police station around 06h00 on Wednesday for assistance. She was told to wait until 08h00 for a shift change.
“They wrote me a paper, and said to go to the gender-based violence unit in town around 10h00 for help as their vehicle didn’t want to start.
I was even told to go and look for him, but the police failed to follow up on a sighting of him that I communicated to them,” Eises continued.
Narrating her painful ordeal to New Era, Eises said she left her son in the care of her sister on Friday, He was thus lured away by the suspect while at a tuckshop, just metres away from the house in Tutaleni.
Her cousins shortly afterwards told their mother that the boy had left with his father.
Eises said her heart sank when her sister called and said the suspect took her son.
“I immediately sent text messages, and called police officers to help me search for my son. My phone can prove all the attempts I made,” a sad Eises added.
She was even told by one of the officers to go to the police station. Despite her desperation, she was not attended to immediately.
“They only took me seriously after a message came in from my husband to go and fetch my son’s body. However, I had to wait again as there was no police vehicle to look for them,” Eises said while fighting back tears.
A police officer finally arrived, and they used that vehicle to search for the suspect and her son. They could not find them, and went back to the police station.
“I heard over the police radio that the body of a child was found in the dunes while I was seated in the charge office, and I knew that it was my baby,” a distraught Eises continued.
Seeking help for a week
She now feels that her son’s life could have been spared if the police had taken her pleas seriously. Instead, she said she was sent around from the Tutaleni to the Kuisebmond police stations days before the tragedy played out.
Ironically, after her son’s death, there were enough vehicles to take them around for the investigation.
“I feared for my life and that of my two boys as my abusive husband has been tormenting me since July last year. If only they took me seriously and responded to my pleas. They should have just helped me. My son would have been here with me today”.