Selma Ikela
WINDHOEK - No arrest has been made regarding the half-naked taxi driver who was found dead in an Otjomuise riverbed a week ago, said Khomas Regional Crime Investigation Coordinator Deputy Commissioner Abner Agas.
It is suspected the murdered taxi driver, Isaak Shimbwale Shilinge, 32, a resident of Otjomuise was stoned or stabbed to death while in a car in the early hours of Saturday morning December 08, along Matshitsi road in a company of a woman who is his neighbour.
The unidentified woman escaped the scene and didn’t report the incident to the police. The body of Shilinge, a father of five minor children was discovered by women collecting firewood in the area on Monday morning lying about one kilometre away from the vehicle.
The women alerted a security truck driver in the area who in turn informed the police. The deceased was found without his pants. He only had a T-shirt and a vest underneath. His boxer was later found on the front seat of the taxi.
Agas told New Era that someone was brought in for questioning but was released. The deputy commissioner explained the woman who was in the company of Shilinge is not arrested because she is not linked to the crime.
Agas said the woman confirmed they were drinking together and drove somewhere and were later attacked by unknown people and she ran away.
According to the deceased’s cousin Auguste Alweendo, Shilinge was laid to rest on Saturday at Onemanya, Ongandjera in Omusati Region.
Alweendo stated the deceased who was in a company of a woman must have been attacked while at the back seat of the car as it is covered in blood.
The unidentified woman is Shilinge’s neighbour. The woman is not arrested but allegedly have to report herself daily at the police station. Alweendo said they are still waiting for the autopsy report which will state the cause of death.
As family, she said they are not happy with what happened and the fact that the woman is not divulging any information. “The girl must tell us who the attackers are. She must tell us what they were doing in the car,” she stated.
Alweendo added that the blood from the scene will be tested and fingerprints will be traced via Home Affairs.
According to Alweendo, Shilinge and the woman left a bar on Saturday morning around 04h00 and drove and parked along Matshitsi road.
During the attack, the woman escaped and didn’t go report the matter to the police. She didn’t even go to her residence in Otjomuise but allegedly went to her father’s house in Goreangab and arrived there between 08h00 and 09h00.
The woman was initially asked by her in-law about the state she appeared as she was drunk and her clothes covered in blood, but she refused to talk. She soaked her clothing and went to lay down in her father’s room.
Her sister approached and questioned her and she told her sister what happened. The woman called her mother in Otjomuise and told her to check if Shilinge was home and if he wasn’t, her mother should inform his family to go look for him at the hospital as he was attacked.
At the same time, Alweendo said Shilinge’s young brother who is the owner of the taxi Shilinge was driving went to the deceased’s place on Saturday morning looking for him because he didn’t give any proceeds from the taxi for a week. When Shilinge’s younger brother arrived at Otjomuise, the deceased room was locked and neighbour – the mother to the woman who was with Shilinge called him and informed him what her daughter related to her.
Shilinge’s brother went to the police and the woman was picked in Goreangab to go show the place of incident but seems she went to a wrong place and didn’t find the car or the body until Shilinge ‘s body was discovered on Monday. Maria Iipinge added although they accept what happened, his death was horrible and a big loss to the family.
Furthermore, the deceased’s phone was found in possession of a taxi driver who was brought in for questioning but later released. The driver claimed he bought the Samsung for N$20 from an unknown man around Soweto market.
During police investigation, the phone was initially in possession of a woman who allegedly got it from her boyfriend. The boyfriend got the phone early in the week from the deceased and exchanged it for a N$100, which Shilinge was supposed to pay back. When the police called the girlfriend and related the story to her, she switched off the phone and it is suspected it was sold to the taxi driver.