WINDHOEK – The woman accused of bashing the head of four-year old Fortuna Tenete in the Wanaheda police station cells, thereby causing the child’s death, reportedly committed suicide on Monday night.
The incident in which Tenete lost his life led to a huge public outcry with Ombudsman John Walters recently releasing a report lamenting the fact that children were kept in jail with their mothers.
The incident in which 32-year-old Loise Kaambu allegedly hit Tenete’s head against the cell floor after an argument with his mother sparked such public outrage that it even reverberated in the National Assembly.
The mother of the little boy, 29-year-old Kaarina Matheus, was in police custody with her child after she failed to post bail of N$500 for shoplifting. Matheus and Kaambu were involved in an argument and fight in the holding cell in Wanaheda, with Kaambu subsequently venting her anger on the little boy whose head she bashed.
Kaambu was moved to the Gobabis police station cells after she complained during her last court appearance that she received death threats from fellow inmates at Wanaheda police station.
It was at the Gobabis police holding cells that she reportedly killed herself. Unconfirmed reports indicated Kaambu hanged herself with her stockings in her cell at around 20h15 on Monday night. Police investigations into the matter continue.
By Roland Routh