RUNDU - A 33-year-old man was allegedly killed by his nephew during the early hours of New Year’s Day after an argument over a torch.

The deceased was chopped with an axe several times and died on the spot.

The gruesome murder was reported to have happened on New Year’s Day at 02h00 at Rupara village in Kavango West.

“It is alleged that a 25-year-old suspect unlawfully and intentionally chopped a 33-year-old Namibian male, who is his uncle, with a traditional axe several times on the head after an argument over a torch. The victim died on the spot. The suspect was arrested and is due for court,” said the Kavango West police in a report. 

In a separate incident on Saturday at around 05h00 along the Rundu-Nkurenkuru highway at Karangana village, a 19-year-old man was found lying along the road injured and unconscious by a passerby. He was believed to have been bumped by a vehicle. 

 “The victim sustained injuries that suggest that he was hit by an unknown vehicle. Broken pieces of a mudguard of a silver vehicle were found on the scene of the accident,” said the police in a statement. The victim was rushed to the Rundu Intermediate Hospital as he was in a critical condition. The police are investigating a hit-and-run incident, and have asked for anyone with information to assist them in apprehending the culprit.

In the Kavango East region, the police were called to a scene at Ncumushi village on New Year’s Day, where a  36-year-old man died after drinking an unknown substance which is believed to have caused his death. The police transported his body to a mortuary for a post-mortem examination.

On New Year’s Eve, the police in Rundu arrested a man who allegedly pointed a pistol at a 36-year-old man at Ndama location, some minutes before midnight. The police could, however, not divulge more information on why the suspect pointed the weapon at the victim, but they have arrested the suspect and he is due to appear in court soon.