Eba Kandovazu 

Residents of Ermina Street in Windhoek’s Greenwell Matongo location are grappling with grief and disbelief following a suspected murder-suicide that claimed the lives of a couple they described as gentle, loving and inseparable.

David Alweendo (53) allegedly fatally shot his wife Elizabeth Alweendo (42) in the early hours of Sunday morning before turning the gun on himself. 

The tragedy unfolded in their home in the presence of their daughter and son, aged 18 and six years, respectively.

Elizabeth Mparo, who was their neighbour for 10 years, described the couple as kind and loving.

She said they never displayed signs of violence.

“Elizabeth was soft, friendly and helpful. I last saw her on Friday when she sewed my friend’s daughter’s engagement dress. The two of them were so kind to each other. This is a big shock to us as a community, hearing that ‘Tate Davey shot his wife’. 

He, too, was a soft-spoken man. There were no signs of abuse between the two of them,” Mparo said.

Another neighbour, Annette Ockhuizen, said she was awakened by the sound of gunshots shortly after the Miss Namibia pageant ended on national television.

“We came out and observed police vehicles, City Police cars and a mortuary van. We are all shocked because we never saw this couple arguing,” she said.

Family members are equally devastated. 

A nephew of the deceased, who spoke to this agency on condition of anonymity, said his uncle, affectionately known as ‘Makalanyana’, was a trusted family mechanic and a beloved figure in their lives.

“This incident has shocked all of us because two lives have been lost at once. We don’t know how to explain it. We have so many questions, but the only people with the answers are gone.

“I was close to the couple and would regularly visit them. Last week, I visited them, and there were no signs of abuse or miscommunication between them. Neighbours say that night, David bought drinks for both him and his wife, as they were getting ready to watch Miss Namibia together,” the nephew added.

It has been confirmed that Elizabeth will be laid to rest in her home village, Omandongo village.

 David will be buried in Olukonda village.

The Namibian Police Force’s weekly crime report states that what began as a verbal altercation escalated into a fatal confrontation witnessed by their daughter, who, in the process, was struck by a stray bullet on her thigh.

She has been admitted to the Katutura State Hospital, where her condition is reported as serious but stable.

-Nampa