A mother’s agony: Handing ‘murderer’ son over to police

The mother of a teen accused in the murder of transgender woman Christof ‘Sexy Charmy’ Fredericks says she handed her son over to the police, whom she slammed for trying to ‘score brownie points’ in the arrest.Antoinette Nandomba, mother of 19-year-old Elias Namwandi Nandomba - criticised the police&#039;s portrayal of their heroics in her son’s arrest at Swakopmund over the weekend.Fredericks’ murder - perceived to be a hate crime - took place in Windhoek’s Otjomuise last week.Antoinette and Elias’ father, Joseph, strongly asserted that they handed their son over to the police, contrary to the details in a police report and subsequent media coverage. "This makes it seem like I was protecting Mwandi from the police, but I wasn&#039;t. I handed my son over to the police without knowing the nature of his alleged crime. I only learnt about the extent of the accusations against him through social media," she said.‘Living with a murderer’Elias’ mother said on Thursday, 2 May, he was sent to stay with her in Swakopmund for a while following ‘other family matters’ involving him in Windhoek. This is how he ended up in Swakopmund where the arrest took place, she said.Following his arrival at the coast, her older daughter told her that rumours surrounding the murder were spreading, and that police investigations had led to Mervin ‘Lele’ Beukes, who later implicated Elias. "When the police started searching for him, they interrogated my younger sister, Tashiya, whom I instructed to give our mother&#039;s phone number to the police as [Elias] was with her in Swakopmund," the daughter - who did not want to be named - narrated. Antoinette said she received a call from her older daughter, signalling that she would receive a call from the police and urging her to cooperate with them, or else it would seem as though she was protecting Elias. "When the police called, they asked if I was aware of the fact that I’m living with a ‘murderer’.” According to Antoinette, she did exactly as instructed. “I remained calm, and on the day of his arrest, I placed a balaclava over his face and drove with him to a skip behind a primary school in Swakopmund’s Matutura area, where I alerted the police to pick him up."ImplicatedElias’ sister Tashiya Nandomba (23) and Joslin Booysen (21) have been implicated in the matter, and have since been arrested for defeating or obstructing the course of justice after they allegedly attempted to conceal evidence of the crime.Tashiya was drawn into the situation when Elias allegedly arrived home wearing clothing drenched in blood, and asked her to assist in concealing this evidence, the mother narrated. The family has further expressed deep sorrow over the tragic event and extended their sincerest apologies to Fredericks’ bereaved family.

A mother’s agony: Handing ‘murderer’ son over to police

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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A mother’s agony: Handing ‘murderer’ son over to police

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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