Windhoek — Katutura magistrate Johannes Shuuveni yesterday denied bail to a young man who stands accused of strangling his former lover to death with a tie in June.

The victim was a Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN) student at the time of her brutal murder. The accused, Gabriel Jana Petrus (29) faces a charge of murder following a horrendous incident in June during which he is alleged to have strangled to death a fourth-year PoN student Tuwilika Ekandjo, after she broke off their love affair. The matter was remanded to January 30, 2013.

At the time of the incident it was reported that the suspect, whose father is Petrus Gabriel, a prominent businessman who owns a fleet of long-distance buses, and bars and restaurants, among others, had been stalking his victim for some time. During the bail hearing Ekandjo's family showed up at the Katutura Magistrate's Court to hand over a petition in which they opposed the granting of bail to the suspect, who has caused them untold anguish.

It is believed that Ekandjo broke off the relationship with Petrus after which the suspect reportedly started bombarding her with sinister text messages and even threatening her life.

Petrus allegedly sneaked into Ekandjo's house and strangled her, since he could not accept the fact that she had ended their love affair.

Ekandjo was a fourth-year information technology student and an intern at Telecom Namibia. She hailed from Oshakati.

Roger Sibungo represented the State, while Willem Visser represented Petrus.