By Surihe Gaomas WINDHOEK Two-and-a-half weeks after the death of the mother of the little girl who was allegedly brutally raped and killed early last year by a security guard, the corpse (that of the mother) is still lying at the mortuary at the Katutura State Hospital, as the family cannot afford to buy a coffin. Early this week, members of the bereaved family of the late Maria //Hoesemas were at the mortuary trying to figure out how best they could put their loved one to rest. However, without any means to cover the cost of a N$2ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 500 coffin, the funeral arrangements of //Hoesemas can still not be finalized. The 34-year-old //Hoesemas passed away on September 11 this year, without learning the fate of the alleged killer, whose court case started on Friday, or why the life of her little girl, four-year-old Manuela Sophia //Hoesemas, was brutally cut short. Security guard, Lesly Kukame, allegedly killed the child behind the old cinema building in Katutura on February 10 last year. Kukame reappeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court last Friday, but his case was postponed to December 8 for further investigation. Voicing the plight of the family, Coordinator of Women’s Solidarity Namibia, Rosa Namises informed New Era that the story was even more tragic for the family as they struggle to find money to buy a coffin. The body has been at the mortuary for over a fortnight. Namises said the late Maria never really recovered from the death of her little girl last year, which forced her into a state of depression and her ultimate death. “She was devastated and suffered a lot emotionally as well,” said Namises, adding that the tale of this woman is even more tragic than meets the eye. “Three years ago, Maria herself was raped by a farm worker in the Otjimbingwe area, and it was during one of her trips to Windhoek for her own court case that the tragic incident of her daughter’s rape and murder of her very own four-year-old daughter. Sophia, occurred,” said Namises. This in turn caused her to go into severe depression and emotional heartache, resulting in her health rapidly deteriorating. She is reportedly survived by three children aged 16, 13 and 10 years. When the New Era team last month visited the home of the //Hoesemas family situated next to the old cinema building in Katutura, the late Maria had these few words to say at the time about the latest transformation of the old cinema building that’s being converted into a multi-purpose community centre in memory of her little girl, Sophia: “It was and still is a painful thing for us to have lost little Sophia in such a terrible way, but with God’s healing we are pleased with the new centre, which is being led by a church organization and will bring further spiritual healing.” Sitting close to her aunt, Maria Kharuxas said that the transformation of the building was a blessing in disguise, as it would be named in memory of the little girl who so tragically lost her life. What was rather touching was that when Sophia died in February last year, the grandmother, Katrina //Hoesemas, who looked after the child, passed away in November the same year, while Maria’s death followed ten months later. Namises is assisting the family by looking for funds and is appealing to any good Samaritans to come to the family’s aid in this regard. For now, anyone who would like to lend a helping hand can contact Namises on mobile phone: 081 252 5243. Namises is a former Member of Parliament and is currently working as a coordinator for Women Solidarity Organization.