'Killer mom' back at work

A Namibian mother who allegedly killed her two children in cold blood in Ethiopia over two years ago continues to work at the ministry of mines and energy.No legal consensus has been reached after the State clumsily bungled a criminal case against Kristofina Amutenya, leading to charges being withdrawn.Amutenya, who according to colleagues often wears a headscarf to work to conceal her face, works as a chief loan and finance officer.The ministry of mines ducked questions on why it has not suspended Amutenya pending the outcome of her prosecution.The State provisionally withdrew charges against Amutenya, who is accused of killing her son Jenay Haufiku (9) and daughter Jane Haufiku (3) in December 2020, after a bitter divorce battle in which their father was granted custody.A third child, her husband’s son from a previous relationship, survived the attack.Amutenya was married to Peter Haufiku, a commercial attaché at the Namibian embassy in Ethiopia.After the heinous killings, Amutenya, who lived in Ethiopia with her then husband, was deported to Namibia and arrested upon landing.‘Unlawful’She immediately brought an urgent application in the High Court, in which she argued that her arrest and detention were unlawful.Through her lawyer Kadhila Amoomo, she argued that she was not furnished with any documentation explaining why she was arrested and consequently detained in police custody.Government attorneys and prosecutors then agreed with Amoomo to provisionally withdraw the charges against Amutenya – and two years later, the status quo remains the same.Her ex-husband’s family, in a letter seen by Namibian Sun, said they are in excruciating pain due to a lack of action being taken to bring Amutenya to book.“We, Jenay and Jane’s family, are still wallowing in a pool of confusion, excruciating pain and total despair. We have a barrage of questions [and] worries,” the family wrote.“We can’t forgive and forget too soon, our wounds are still fresh and our pain is aggravated by the fact that the murder accused of our young ones is walking free and even going to work as if nothing happened. It is unbelievable that this case is not taken seriously.”Give me my shareMeanwhile, although their divorce has been finalised, Amutenya and Haufiku are entangled in a bitter struggle for their estate.In November 2022, she demanded that Haufiku sell his immovable assets and give her half of the proceeds, including half of the insurance claimed for his Amarok bakkie, to which she is entitled - given that they have a joint estate.Amoomo wrote to Haufiku’s lawyer Henry Shimutwikeni: “Our instructions are that our client has no interest in retaining ownership of the immovable property and herewith elects to receive payment from your client equivalent to half the value of the property in as far as it is reflected in the attached property valuation.“Furthermore, kindly be informed that our client also expects reasonable compensation for the value of the properties situated in Ongha village, in the northern part of Namibia, as well as reasonable compensation for half the value of the monies claimed from the insurance relating to the Amarok bakkie."Under investigationControl public prosecutor at the time of the killings, Hans Thourob, told Namibian Sun yesterday that he no longer works in the prosecutor’s office.He was the one who informed Magistrate Alweendo Venatius that the charges against Amutenya were being provisionally withdrawn.“After the case was withdrawn from court, the docket went back to the police for further investigation,” he said yesterday.Namibian Police head of criminal investigations, Commissioner Lilungwe Mayumbelo, yesterday said they are still seized with the matter.“I am currently out of the office and thus not in a position to comment as I do not have insight of the case docket. What I can assure you is that the docket is still actively under investigation,” he said.International lawsNamibian Sun understands that the Namibian ministry of international relations was informed by its embassy in Addis Ababa that the Ethiopian police had finalised investigations and submitted a report to the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs.Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa said this is a crime that took place beyond Namibian borders and should thus be dealt with in terms of international laws.“The police have been issued further instructions to investigate the matter. If the family has issues to raise, why don’t they come our offices? We represent victims and this [also applies to] the relatives,” she said.Questions sent to the mines ministry were not responded to by the time of going to print.jemima@namibiansun.com

'Killer mom' back at work

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-20

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'Killer mom' back at work

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-20

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