A Chinese national died on Friday evening after being shot by armed attackers at the construction site of the Vision School at Divundu, 200 kilometres east of Rundu.

The deceased, aged 54, was working at the construction site. Although the motive for the killing is unknown at this point, it is alleged that the gunmen entered the school by cutting the fence around the school premises.

They proceeded towards the room where the foreign workers had assembled for dinner. According to information from the police, the construction site manager Dunjie Li and the deceased heard gunshots. The deceased was struck by the bullets

He sustained gunshot wounds to the stomach and was rushed to the Andara District Hospital where he died, while waiting for medical treatment. Terrified colleagues of the deceased said they never expected a thing like that to happen, adding that they have lost a hardworking colleague.

A concerned Nampol Regional Commander, Olavi Auanga, said his region will not entertain such barbaric acts.

"As we speak, my officers are on the ground investigating. What image does this portray about Namibia to the international community? These acts can scare away potential investors," he said.

Auanga assured the nation that the men in uniform were trying their level best to apprehend the perpetrators.

"At this stage, the details are sketchy, because we do not know whether they wanted to rob or kill the people living on the site," he said.

The commissioner further requested the community to assist the police. "If you see unknown people in your area, alert the police because the police alone cannot stop crime," he said.

The Chinese company Jiangxi International is building the first Vision School in the country, which will accommodate gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The envisaged school is being built under the auspices of the multi-billion dollar Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), which started in 2006.

No arrests had been made at the time of going to press and police investigations continued.