USAKOS – Drug abuse, a cycle of sheer poverty and a moment of madness have surfaced as harbingers to the killings of six family members in cold blood, suspectedly at the hands of their own.
“A child raised in the skirt of his grandmother since the age of five doesn’t just wake up and beat her to death with an iron axe, and thereafter burn her body. Something dark was going on with him on that night,” were the heart-wrenching words of a close family member, trying to make sense of the unspeakable tragedy.
It is a heinous crime which has left an entire community in shock and mourning.
The horrific incident unfolded in the dusty, slow-paced township of Hakhaseb in Usakos, where 86-year-old pensioner Elisabeth Naruses was allegedly brutally butchered by her 17-year-old grandson.
The teenager’s reported violent rampage did not stop there.
In the same blood-chilling act, he allegedly mercilessly took the lives of five more family members – his twin sister Fenny Naruses (17), young Ibra Naruses (6), and toddlers Raunisha Boer (6), Rachel Boer (3) and Emi Naruses (3). Each of these souls met a horrific and violent end on that fateful Saturday night.
Sheer pain
When New Era visited the house where the unimaginable occurred, the air was thick with grief and disbelief, all vivid to the naked eye.
A heavy, suffocating cloud of sorrow loomed over the modest home.
In the sitting room, chairs were set for mourning visitors who sat quietly, staring at pictures of the deceased – a sombre reminder of the lives lost.
Just a few feet away from that room stood the door to the place where the massacre happened. Between being gripped by discomfort and haunted by curiosity about what truly happened that night, the crew carefully spoke to family and community members who are still reeling and struggling to understand the savage turn of events.
A close family member, speaking under the condition of anonymity, detailed the sequence of the murders with chilling clarity. Their voice was thick with emotion, their red eyes a painful sign of sleepless nights filled with anguish. The relatively young relative, visibly shaken, recounted the gruesome narrative reportedly confessed to police by the accused the following day after his arrest.
According to that confession, the teen methodically arranged the bodies of his victims in rows, placed a mattress over them, and set them ablaze. The blaze was so intense that forensic experts had to scrape the charred remains from the concrete floor of the room.
“There were mattress coils stuck in some of their bodies. We tried to wash the blood from the walls, but it’s still there. The stains won’t go away. We can’t forget what happened, and I can’t stop thinking about how he could have done this to Ouma, who gave him all she could,” the family member said, their voice trembling.
They further revealed that the 17-year-old was frequently at odds with family members due to drug use.
“He used drugs. He smoked ‘diamand’ (crystal meth) and mixed it with other substances like marijuana and mandrax, then inhaled the mixture through broken beer bottle necks. On the day of the murders, he had been smoking heavily. I don’t know how he could do this to such a frail lady who raised him.”
Not isolated
This act of violence, while unprecedented in its brutality, is not isolated in the broader context of life in Usakos.
Family members stated that drug and alcohol abuse has become a deeply-rooted issue in the community. Here, drug dealers allegedly operate with impunity, and their presence is known to both residents and law-enforcement officers.
“The police know about it, and turn a blind eye. Drugs are everywhere, and the youth are being used as couriers. There’s no one to help us,” said the relative, echoing a common sentiment among residents.
Despite the immense grief suffered by the family, meaningful support has been sorely lacking, the family lamented.
“The social workers came, but they’ve never followed up. There’s no help, no proper counselling. We will never forget this. How could we?” the source said, eyes downcast.
Poverty
Community members shared varied recollections of the accused. Some remember him as a boy who longed to escape the difficult life he was born into. One resident described him as often being seen with a group of boys, but noted that he always greeted people respectfully before moving on.
Yet, even these memories are now overshadowed by a sense of disbelief and betrayal. Residents also alleged police complicity in the flourishing drug trade.
“The police know what’s happening, and are part of it. The satellite station in the location is rarely open, and officers are often late to crime scenes. When you try to speak out, they turn the blame on you,” one community member said.
Others confirmed that the accused not only consumed drugs, but also sold them. Although he reportedly despised the life he led, he felt trapped in a cycle of poverty and hopelessness, with no visible path to a better future.
Drugs
More sources revealed that several well-known drug dealers in the area are protected by members of the community because they occasionally assist vulnerable households with food and essentials, making people reluctant to report them. This moral paradox further complicates efforts to uproot the drug scourge which is quietly destroying families and futures.
Prayers
Despite the horrific nature of the crime, a family member, Martha Naruses, said the family is awaiting official guidance from the police before they can finalise funeral arrangements.
Through the deep grief and pain the family continues to endure, the accused is still family.
“We will keep him in our prayers,” she said quietly.
The magnitude of this tragedy has not only devastated the family, but has also deeply shaken the Usakos community at large. In a heartfelt public statement, mayor Irene Simeon-Kurtz strongly condemned the brutal killings, calling them a painful reminder of the underlying social ills plaguing the town. She specifically raised alarm over the increasing levels of gender-based violence, and the disturbing frequency of violent crimes targeting women and children.
“Never did I think that such a gruesome act could happen in Usakos. This is not who we are. This is not the society I know. We cannot allow this violence to take root in our town,” said the mayor. She also expressed her gratitude to the law- enforcement officers, including detectives from Walvis Bay and forensic experts from Windhoek, who acted swiftly to apprehend the suspect. “It’s truly unfortunate that this young man will now face the full might of the law,” she added.
In her statement, Simeon-Kurtz called for immediate and collective action to tackle the root causes of such acts of violence, highlighting the urgent need to address youth unemployment and rampant drug and alcohol abuse in the region.
Police
On the other hand, Usakos police station commander Inspector Engelbrecht Garoeb said community members are at times sceptical of reporting druglords, as it is a small community where everyone knows one another.
However, he hastened to say, the police still encourage them to provide tip-offs to them. He likewise added that the youth have no opportunities, and are unemployed.
These factors, he conceded, have created a fertile ground for criminal activities to thrive.
Tragically, this incident is part of a disturbing trend. Just days earlier, on 6 April 2024, a 29-year-old local woman named Lena Williams was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in a harrowing case of domestic violence. Before the attack, Williams had sought help from police after receiving threatening messages. Although the suspect was eventually arrested following a manhunt, the incident has reignited public debate about the effectiveness of police responses to domestic abuse. In a poignant tribute, the local police station in Hakhaseb is now named after her.
Earlier tragedies, such as the 2002 murder of German tourist Renate Gruber and the violent 2015 robbery of farmer Fred Grey von Pittius, have long served as grim reminders of the ongoing security and crime challenges faced by the Erongo region.
Photo: Isai Sipunga