Namibia has seen a rise in missing persons cases, including those involving minor children and teenagers. The Namibian Police has recorded an annual resolved-and-found rate of roughly 89% to 90%. Recent figures indicate that, over a reporting period of less than a year, 432 missing persons cases were opened. Of these, 290 people were found alive, 12 were found deceased, while 130 cases remain active and unresolved. While some of these people have been found, either alive or dead, many families and the nation still have not found closure. They are left with unanswered questions about the whereabouts of their loved ones.
Minors and teenagers consistently make up a large proportion of those reported missing, a situation that has stirred fear among the public about general safety, especially at schools, where parents entrust their children while they go about their daily activities. However, it appears that these places are increasingly becoming hunting grounds for perpetrators.
If one looks closely at the cases of missing persons, each one is a call to action. From Magdalena Stoffels, Spencer Mandela Nakale and Shyril Avihe Ujaha to the Okahandja victims, Ingrid Maasdorp, Roswinds Fabianu and Beyoncé !Kharuxas, each case highlights serious concerns that demand urgent attention.
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These cases raise concerns about the safety of children travelling to and from school, as well as while they are at school. In the case of Magdalena Stoffels, she was found raped and murdered in a riverbed near her school. Cases such as this remind us that children remain vulnerable even in places where they are expected to be safest. These cases also raise concerns about the role of parents in ensuring the safety of their children.
There is therefore a need to educate both parents and children about personal safety, because responsibility cannot be placed entirely in the hands of the police. Parents should ensure that their children are dropped off at and collected from school safely by a trusted adult, using a reliable mode of transport.
Parents should also be cautioned against leaving children with strangers, as illustrated by the case of a woman at Engela District Hospital in Ohangwena, who left her newborn with a stranger while she went to relieve herself, only for the baby to be recovered in the Omusati region two weeks later. As we educate adults not to leave their children with strangers, children should likewise be taught to avoid speaking to strangers and to report any suspicious behaviour to trusted adults.
This is similar to a recent incident in which a woman allegedly snatched a boy from a street in Oshakati. Although the two incidents differ in circumstance, both allegedly involved women who lied to their partners about having given birth to their children. These paternity-related incidents, together with the more horrific cases of children allegedly murdered for ritual purposes and other unexplained killings, illustrate the extent of the unsafe environment to which children are exposed.
According to the Namibian Police, about three to four people are reported missing every month, with the majority being teenage girls. In the worst-case scenario, a missing person may have been murdered and the body disposed of, kidnapped and held hostage, trafficked out of the country, died by suicide without the body being discovered, or may simply have left home voluntarily to stay with friends or a boyfriend or girlfriend without informing family members.
While the police and the Namibian public have played a commendable role in helping to locate many missing persons, concerns remain regarding transparency in unresolved cases. A local daily recently reported that the families of the Okahandja victims have not received updates on the investigations for several months. At the same time, the public remains in the dark about the progress of that case and many others.
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The police should therefore keep both affected families and the public informed, even when investigations are ongoing. While not every detail can be disclosed, it is important for families to be reassured that their loved ones have not been forgotten. In addition, public confidence in the investigative process and the justice system can only be restored and maintained through regular communication.
Every missing person case represents more than a statistic. It represents a family waiting for answers, a community living in fear, and a nation that cannot afford to become desensitised. Every case is a call to action, and every missing person deserves urgency, transparency and justice.
