SWAKOPMUND – The Namibian police have launched a nationwide hunt for the killer of the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (Nimt) executive director Eckhart Mueller and his deputy Heimo Hellwig, who were heinously killed on Monday.
As of late yesterday afternoon, the killer was still at large. Crime-coordinator for the Namibian police in the Erongo Region, Erastus Iikuyu, yesterday told New Era that the motive behind the killing of the two men is still unknown at this stage and that they did not want to speculate.
“However our investigation so far indicates that no robbery took place during the killings,” he said.
Mueller and Hellwig were shot at close range as they were about to open the Arandis Nimt campus between 06h00 and 0630 in time for the arrival of students and employees on Monday.
Their bodies, laying in a pool of blood, were found by a hostel matron who heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene.
They were found with head and abdomen bullet wounds in front of the office block.
Police collected eight spent cartridges of a 9 millimetre pistol at the scene.
According to Iikuyu, there is no surveillance footage of the fatal shooting as Nimt did not have any CCTV installed at the campus.
In fact, employees yesterday also said that the security guards stationed at the Arandis campus were also not armed and that Nimt deployed guard dogs at its campuses.
Police are now appealing to anyone with information on the killer(s) to contact Iikuyu at 082464757 or Detective Inspector Daniel Gurirab at 0812333745/082629842 or the nearest police station.
Meanwhile, President Hage Geingob late on Monday expressed shock and sadness over the senseless killing of Mueller and Hellwig.
Geingob applauded Mueller for his “stellar contributions towards the progressive realisation of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) landscape and development of young people in Namibia” in a statement released by his office.