Maria Amakali
WINDHOEK – A mother who faces a charge of strangling to death her one-month-old baby boy has assured the court that she still wants to undergo mental observation.
Liina Lineekela Shaambeni was referred several times for mental observation but has been unable to be evaluated due to the long list of patients needing attention at the psychiatric facility.
Shaambeni appeared in the Windhoek Regional Court yesterday, where the prosecution is charging Shaambeni for murder in the death of her one-month-old boy. The infant was allegedly murdered through strangulation with a cord from his jersey.
The court asked Shaambeni if she was still willing to undergo mental observation given that her case has been postponed numerous times for the very reason, to which Shaambeni gave her consent.
Shaambeni’s defence attorney Johan van Vuuren asked the court to have Shaambeni observed as she seems to be vague, unsure and could not comprehend what was going on. Van Vuuren explained that Shaambeni cannot recall what happened on the day in question, thus the need to have her observed. Shaambeni remains in custody.
Prosecutor Fillemon Nyau explained that the State is waiting for the investigative officer to confirm if the booking has been done.
Shaambeni has denied any wrongdoing. But according to the investigative officer Shaambeni has confessed to the gruesome killing. He explained that Shaambeni arrived with her baby in Windhoek from Lüderitz in the patient’s bus to Katutura Intermediate Hospital. Shaambeni’s baby disappeared which caused suspicion amongst the hospital staff who alerted the police.
Upon interrogation, Shaambeni informed the police of what she had done. The police allegedly found the baby’s lifeless body with a cord around his neck behind the nurses’ homes at Katutura hospital on October 17, 2016.
Magistrate Alexis Diergardt postponed the matter to July 11 to wait for Shaambeni to undergo psychiatric evaluation.