THE Kavango Regional Police Commander, Commissioner Olavi Auanga, yesterday launched an investigation into the alleged kidnapping of three villagers from this region.

Auanga yesterday afternoon said it had never been reported to his office that any villagers had mysteriously disappeared over the past year. As a result, he could not confirm whether the allegations were true.

Nampa yesterday reported that three people had been 'abducted' from Ncumcara village.

It was reported that one of the three people was later found dead, while one has still not been found.

According to Nampa, the first person who went missing was a pensioner, Elizabeth Siyave. She is alleged to have gone missing earlier this year after returning from a Sunday church service. It was reported that her naked body was found five days later "after an intensive search by family and community members".

In April this year, a five-year-old boy from the same village is claimed to have gone missing while herding cattle with his twin sister and an older sibling. Siyave's daughter, who is also an aunt of the toddler, Agatha Ngalangi, was quoted by Nampa as saying that the boy had still not been found "despite an intensive search by community members together with the Namibian Police".

Auanga yesterday denied that the Police were involved in any search operations for missing villagers of Ncumcara.

Last month, on June 3, another villager, Thomas Mukisi (21), was also allegedly abducted and was returned to his home two days later by two unidentified men. While he was allegedly held hostage, he claimed to have been "forced to cut timbers", it was reported.

The Police commander yesterday afternoon told The Namibian he had instructed his staff to "get on the ground" immediately to launch an investigation into the allegations.