Karibib boy’s murder evokes child safety concerns

The funeral of six-year-old Adreano Oswyn, whose body was cut into pieces and discarded in a 10 kg maize meal bag at Karibib, has sparked questions about the safety of the Namibian child.

Oswyn’s mother, Rita Seibes, was unable to stand on her feet as she bade a painful goodbye to her young son, who was laid to rest at Karibib on Saturday.

Siegried Kheib, a community activist and former police officer, pleaded with the community to break their silence, urging them to speak up if they saw anything or anyone who may have lured the pre-schooler away from his home.

"Where are the police in this matter?" asked member of parliament Elma Dienda on Sunday.

Rosa Namises, herself a former member of parliament and a children's and women’s rights activist, had similar questions.

Urgent answers needed

Dienda said: "Government has failed our children, but parents must be held accountable. We blindly entrust our children to people without following up to see if they are safe. This child's (Oswyn) grandfather allegedly took him halfway. How on earth do you take a six-year-old halfway? You take him home and make sure he is safe."

She also questioned the alleged failure of the police to inform the public about the investigations being conducted into these types of crimes.

Oswyn’s horrific death follows the sudden disappearance of three-year-old Spencer Mandela Nakale, who has yet to be found since he went missing in December 2021, as well as the discovery of nine-year-old Avihe Cheryl Ujaha's mutilated body, found discarded near a riverbed between Katutura and Khomasdal in 2018.

Namises and Dienda believe there is a darker mystery behind these deaths and disappearances, and that the police are not doing enough to investigate and study the cases.

Child safety paramount

On Sunday, Namises called on the government to appoint safety marshals for children, who should monitor playgrounds and neighbourhoods and make sure children are off the streets at a specific time.

"Clearly something deeper is going on here – why are they cut into pieces? Do we know whether their organs were missing? The community is not given these answers," remarked Namises.

"I find our children on the streets every day on the street corners, young boys selling in front of shops. Are they safe from a man recruiting them or trafficking them?"

She also wishes for government to enact legislation that provides for the punishment of parents whose children are found in unsafe situations or roaming the streets.

Targeted care

This law, she says, must also target parents who deliberately fail to enrol their children in school and allow them to work while underage.

"We don’t have effective protective measures in place to keep our children safe. We have failed our children. Little children are standing on the streets at night and I don’t have the authority to take them off the streets. That is where the street marshals can come in because at some homes, children are left alone," said Namises.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona, the Erongo police regional commander, said they are hard at work investigating Oswyn’s death, and appealed to the community to share what they know and have seen that could assist in the investigation.

"The investigation is still ongoing, but nobody has been brought into custody yet. We have brought in no more than ten people for questioning, and some of them are relatives," he confirmed.

Doreen Sioka, the child welfare minister, who is yet to comment on the incident, was not reachable for comment.

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