Alcohol – key in weekend murder
By Confidente Reporter
IT was another weekend of alcohol-fueled murder and mayhem as the ritual carnage on the roads and the tragic pattern of drunken violence continued unabated across the country. In the most serious incident reported at the coast over the weekend, a 54-year-old man lost his life at Uis in disputed circumstances after he reportedly came home drunk with a companion. According to the police, at about 22h00 on Saturday night, Philipus Gaweseb arrived at the house where he had been living until that fateful day.
The murder incident occurred at Tatamutsi location at Uis, shortly after the victim Gaweseb had come from a nearby drinking place with the owner of the house, Immanuel Awiseb, who is now a murder suspect and has since been arrested.
The details of the altercation are not clear, but it is understood that an argument broke out between the now deceased Gaweseb and Awiseb (aged 45 years), which the police said erupted when Gaweseb wanted to know why Awiseb had left his (Awiseb’s sister) at the bar “and that resulted in a heated argument between the two, which led to the fight.”
The police further alleged that Gaweseb had “stabbed the suspect (Awiseb) with a knife on the arm and on the leg; and the suspect retaliated and hit the victim with a stone on the head… the victim fell on the ground. The suspect allegedly continued hitting the victim with stones on the head until he became unconscious.
“The victim was discovered dead in front of the suspect’s room on Sunday morning, his face bloodied and swollen.” Not much is known of the suspect at this stage, but the police said he and the victim were not related.
Alcohol use while driving is also suspected to have been a contributing factor in the death a 47-year-old man who was a passenger in a vehicle traveling to Walvis Bay on Saturday morning when it overturned.
Charges of culpable homicide and drunken driving were filed after Shikalepo Matheus Hamutenya died at the scene of the crash on Saturday. Another passenger, Wilhelm van Wyk (40) sustained injuries and was taken up at Walvis Bay State Hospital.
According to the police report on the incident, at about 08h21 on Saturday a white Opel Corsa sedan with three occupants including the driver, a 49-year-old Namibian male (who was also injured in the crash) was travelling on the C-14 road when about 10 km before Walvis Bay the driver lost control over the vehicle, causing it to overturn.
The driver, who has not yet been named by the police, was subsequently arrested and charged after he tested positive for alcohol, but although he was said to be in “a stable condition” he had to be admitted to Walvis Bay State Hospital for medical examination under police guard, and is expected to be brought before court this week.