John Muyamba
RUNDU – Residents of Ndama location in Rundu on Sunday, woke up to troubling news of a massacre in which a man killed his grandmother, sister and his three nephews born by his sister. The man, who went on the run after the killing spree, was apprehended by police late yesterday afternoon in Rundu. He is set to appear in court today or tommorrow. The massacre is alleged to have taken place in the early morning hours of Sunday, according to Kavango East Police Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Bonifatius Kanyetu. Kanyetu said the man had a fight with the deceased sister on Saturday, and the woman reported the matter to the police, where a case of assault was opened against the man.
The deceased woman was referred to the hospital for medical attention.
When the police went to look for the man, he was found at a bar and he ran away. “Later he went back home and the sister allegedly threatened to call the police, the neighbour came over to help her but the suspect disappeared and came back during the night,” Kanyetu said. It is suspected that he carried out the killings after returning to the house at night. The neighbours were however adamant that when the deceased woman reported the matter to the police, asking for the police to remove the brother from the house, as he is a danger to the family, police said there is no transport. Kanyetu brushed that version aside as incorrect, saying that is not how he has been briefed by the officers who were on duty that time. “There was no such thing as no transport, maybe I will have to confirm and look into that,” he said.
The neighbours crowded around the crime scene yesterday morning, blaming the police for being incompetent, shouting that this could have been avoided if police arrested the man when his now deceased sister reported the matter to the police.
Kanyetu told New Era that he would investigate if any officers responded to complainants that there was no transport.
The police could not divulge more information on the deceaseds and suspect saying it is too soon.
Ndama location, located south of the Trans-Zambezi Highway is one of Rundu’s high crime area as it is not electrified nor has a police substation. The location is also an informal area were hundreds of people have settled illegally over the years. It is Rundu’s biggest shanty town with no proper streets or roads.