OTJIWARONGO: A 34-year-old man died instantly in the early hours of Sunday after he was allegedly stabbed in the chest by his girlfriend at their house in Okahandja.

Namibian Police Force (NamPol)’s Otjozondjupa Crime Investigations Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner, Edna Nawa, in an interview with Nampa on Sunday said the deceased was identified as Sebedeus Davis.

His close relatives were also informed on Sunday about his death, said Nawa.

The incident occurred at about 01h05 on Sunday morning at Nau-Aib township at the town, Nawa said.

‘It is alleged that Davis and his 40-year-old girlfriend had an argument over food shortly after their arrival home from a drinking place,’ Nawa stated.

She added that the police’s preliminary investigations indicate that the deceased allegedly took a wooden plank and hit the girlfriend while demanding for food.

In return, the suspect (girlfriend) who was preparing a meal for him, allegedly pick up a kitchen knife and stabbed Davis once on the left upper chest area.

Dav
is sustained a deep cut wound, and as he tried to walk a few steps towards the door to exit, he fell down, said Nawa.

The suspect walked to the Okahandja Police Station herself and reported the matter.

She was apprehended there on a murder charge.

However, she was taken to the hospital by the police for the medical treatment on the alleged bruises she sustained in the altercation.

A knife suspected to have been used in the stabbing was also found and confiscated by the police.

The woman is expected to appear in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Department of Social Development has successfully repariated a toddler who was being held in a Dakar prison in Senegal.

The department’s social workers arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday with a two-year-old baby who was born in Senegal and has been in the care of the mother who was arrested last year for drug trafficking.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) through its International Social Services (ISS) Directorate notified the Department of Social Development in August 2023 that the biological mother of the child had been arrested last year in February.

‘It is reported that within days of her incarceration, she gave birth to the child. Due to the mother’s incarceration, the child is considered to be in distress since prison is not a conducive environment for the upbringing of the child.’

The South African government through the DIRCO initiated the process of repatriating the child by first visiting the mother to ascertain her wishes about her child.

‘T
he mother nominated the grandmother of the child as the guardian in the country while she serves her sentence in Senegal,’ said the Department of Social Development (DSD) in a statement.

The National DSD then requested the Eastern Cape provincial department to investigate the circumstances of the nominated foster parent to assess suitability to care for the child.

‘The child will be integrated with the mother’s family in the Eastern Cape and the department will continue providing child protection services and provide support to the family.’

The department said it was obligated by Section 7, subsection (1), (f), (ii), of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 that a child needs to maintain a connection with their family, extended family, culture, or tradition and all decisions must be made in the best interest of the child.

Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, said the department will always put the best interest of the child first.

‘However, we remain concerned about the issue of drugs and what it can do to
children. This unborn baby ended up in distress in a foreign country because the mother was arrested for trafficking drugs. We cannot stress more the importance of young people to make the right decisions about their lives,’ the Minister added.

Since 2015, the department has repatriated 21 children in distress in foreign countries.

According to the data, seven were repatriated in Zimbabwe; three in Brazil; two each in Malawi, Mozambique, Canada and Tanzania; and one each in Ghana, the United Kingdom, Peru, Mauritius and Senegal.

Source: South African Government News Agency