WINDHOEK– Just one week after relocating to the Katutura Old Age Home, 71-year-old Maliu Armandu, who lived in destitution at Mix settlement some 20 kilometres out of Windhoek, has gone missing.
New Era first reported about Armandu, after finding him in a deplorable condition at Mix, where he was essentially left to fend for himself.
Senior caretaker at the Katutura Old Age Home, Alex Kanu yesterday confirmed that Armandu has been missing at the dormitory since Monday afternoon.
Kanu said, “He (Armandu) didn’t inform anybody. He just sneaked out.” Kanu added that Armandu might have walked out of the old age home at around 12H30, just after lunch.
Kanu, who was at a Windhoek hospital at the time Armandu went missing, told New Era that the old man was consistently asking for cigarettes from his fellow residents. Fellow residents suspect that Armandu might have walked out in search of cigarettes, Kanu said.
The caretakers informed the police that Armandu is missing but they were told to open a case of ‘a missing person’ only if Armandu is not found within 48 hours of his disappearance.
Kanu said they looked for the old man in the location but by the time of going to print there was no information that Armandu was found.
Armandu moved into the Katutura Old Age Home last Tuesday after good Samaritans and the City of Windhoek reacted on an article that ran in the New Era edition of September 8.
Prior to moving into the old age home, Angolan-born Armandu, who lived in abject poverty for a long time, depended on neighbours and handouts to survive.
He lived in a very dirty shack with rubbish everywhere and in several interviews with New Era the old man constantly complained of hunger. Sympathetic readers responded by giving Armandu food, clothes, a bed and cutlery. George Mayumbelo, the Strategic Executive for Community Services at the City of Windhoek recently said he and community development officers at the municipality were aware of Armandu’s circumstances prior to the New Era report.
Armandu was officially relocated to the old age home last Tuesday courtesy of the City of Windhoek and just three weeks after the first New Era report on Armandu. Armandu last week expressed contentment in moving into the old age home saying he would have regular meals.
“I am very happy. I will stay there as long as they want me there,” Armandu said in an interview just before leaving Mix.
Pic: Armandu missing
Caption: Care taker at the Katutura old age home Martha Rukoro, Maliu Armandu and Senior care taker at the Katutura Old Age Home Alex Kanu at the old age home last Tuesday.