OSHAKATI - A middle-aged man has been admitted to the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital, a day after he allegedly killed his mother.

The 30-year-old man who is now admitted to the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital’s psychiatric ward allegedly battered his 62-year-old mother to death with a stick. It is alleged that on the evening of the incident, the suspect, who is now under police guard at the hospital, started threatening to hurt his relatives.  

The suspect then attacked his mother and his seven-year-old nephew with a stick. Some of the relatives fled from the house and sought refuge with the neighbours, leaving their elderly mother behind it is alleged.

The incident took place at Ondando village near Onankali in the Oshikoto Region. Although Chief Inspector Karel Theron said the details of the incident are still sketchy, the man is alleged to have hit his mother several times all over her body and that is believed to have caused her death.

After the killing, the man is said to have gone to the Onankali Police outpost where he started yelling and causing a scene leading those present to conclude that he was mentally deranged.
Police took him to the Okatope Health Centre from where he was conveyed to the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital and eventually to the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital.

The following morning relatives returned home only to discover that their elderly mother who has been identified as Paulina Ndawedapo (62), died a violent death the previous night.

Ndawedapo allegedly sustained a broken arm and serious injuries to her head and other parts of the body. “It is a very ugly incident and we suspect that there could be alcohol or drugs involved,” said Theron.

The seven-year old boy who was also assaulted before the other relatives fled, leaving him and the elderly lady at the mercy of her son, was treated and discharged from the hospital. The man is expected to appear in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court as soon as he is declared fit to stand trial.