By Anna Shilongo
WINDHOEK
The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) has expressed shock and dismay at the recent murder and mutilation of a young woman whose body was recently found dumped in a rubbish bin between Okahandja and Windhoek.
In a statement yesterday, SPYL Secretary for Information, Publicity and Mobilization, Elijah Ngurare, said the youth league had learned with shock and dismay about the gruesome murder.
“We in the Swapo Party Youth League believe that every life is inviolable and thus when lost, especially in this manner, it brings heart-wrenching sorrow to the immediate family, surrounding communities and by extension the entire country”.
He appealed to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect/s to pass such information on to the nearest police station.He also appealed to the government to ensure that no stone is left unturned in tracking down the perpetrator/s and to ensure that the suspect/s face the full wrath of the law.
“We therefore herewith wish to convey our condolences to the bereaved families of the two young people who lost their lives in this cruel manner last week,” he said. There has been an upsurge in gender-based violence in the country recently. The violence comes in the wake of a national conference on gender-based violence currently under way in Windhoek.
The conference will seek ways of finding concrete and lasting solutions to gender-based violence.
The conference, to be officially opened by President Hifikepunye Pohamba today, will tackle issues of causes and effects of violence on families, communities and the nation.
Participants at the conference will also deliberate on the relationship between gender-based violence and the scourge of HIV/AIDS whose prevalence rate stands at 19.7 percent.
Namibia compared to other Southern African countries is reported to have good legislation on gender but that has not helped resolve violence in communities.