WALVIS BAY – Several persons of interest, mostly employees of the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (Nimt), have been questioned since Monday by the Namibian Police in the Erongo Region in connection with the brutal murders of the institute’s executive director and his deputy on Monday morning.
Nimt executive director Eckhart Mueller and his deputy Heimo Hellwig were gunned down on Monday morning in front of the Arandis campus by an unknown person.
The execution-style murder brought the institution to a standstill and also sent shockwaves through the mining community of Arandis.
Police Chief for Erongo, Commissioner Andreas Nelumbu yesterday indicated that no one was arrested in connection with the murders and that all those who have been questioned so far are only deemed as persons of interest.
“No concrete evidence could be established to link any of the people questioned to the murder of Mueller and Hellwig and cannot even be referred to as suspects,” Nelumbu said.
Nelumbu also confirmed that a training officer from the northern campus was brought in on Tuesday evening, while another person of interest was also questioned following a sinister social media post related to the killings.
He added that no concrete evidence to positively link the training officer, who has become a subject of massive speculation in relation to the murders, could be established and the officer will only be treated as a person of interest at this stage.
“The social media user was released as he was in the Oshikoto Region at the time of the murders,” Nelumbu explained.
He added that they are focusing on the ‘inner circle’ of Nimt without ruling out any other possibilities.
“It should be made clear that all people questioned and continue being questioned will be treated as persons of interest until enough evidence can be brought against them. Hence we must refrain from sharing people’s identities and names until we can positively link them to the murders and allow justice to take its course,” Nelumbu said.