NAMIBIA: ZIMBABWEAN CHILD KILLER EXONERATES WIFE FROM MURDER AND BURNING VICTIM

The bizarre case of a Zimbabwean man Edward Nkata who killed the child of his relative opened in the High Court in Namibia yesterday with the man presenting a written statement exonerating his wife with the murder of the child in 2020 .

Nkata is charged alongside his wife, Caroline Nkata, and Rachel Kureva, the mother of the deceased Akundaishe Natalie Chipomho with charges of murder and obstructing the course of justice, after a burned body was discovered at around 11:30 on the morning of 25 January 2020.

The investigating officer in the matter, Detective Warrant Officer Josef Ndilyowike, testified that the suspects were traced after CCTV footage was obtained showing them dragging a wheelie bin in Middlewick Street, in the capital’s Rhino Park neighbourhood. The incident happened between 21:00 and 22:00, to and from the crime scene where the body had been disposed of in a municipal skip bin. He added that community members in Rhino Park positively identified the Nkatas as the individuals in the CCTV footage and informed officers that they resided in Unit 39 at Jetties Park.

He added that police, however, could not trace the whereabouts of the accused when they arrived at the residence on 26 January 2020, and cellphone data confirmed that they had fled Windhoek.

In the written warning statement obtained, Nkata admitted that he had kicked the deceased at the back of her head after finding her doing something wrong on Thursday, 23 January 2020.

“I got angry, and I eventually slapped her. I also wanted to kick her on her back, but she ducked down, and instead of kicking her on the back as I intended, I accidentally kicked her at the back of her head. Due to the force applied, she hit the floor with her forehead. I thereafter observed that she was swollen. She fell down. I then poured water on her that my wife brought for me, and I was also administering first aid, but she was not responding. She was, however, breathing,” Nkata said.

He added that on the next day, Friday, 24 January 2020, he went to check on the girl in the garage where he had placed her on a mattress between 08:00 and 09:00, after which he discovered that the minor was no longer breathing.

“I was still shocked and thinking if I should go report the incident to the police or not. I was stuck. My wife was also shocked. I then became afraid that if it was discovered, I would be killed too. I eventually thought of disposing of the body by throwing it away where nobody would find it. I then realised that people would still find it. Later on, I thought of burning the corpse in the municipal skip bin. My wife and I went to buy paraffin, matches, and a fire lighter. This was in the afternoon and the body was still in the garage. I wanted to burn the body so no one could trace it back to me,” Nkata said in the statement.

He added that he and his wife, Caroline, followed through with the plan on the night of 24 January 2020.

“I put the corpse in the wheelie bin and pushed it to the municipal skip bin situated on the riverbank near Tall Trees shop. I then dumped the body there in the company of my wife, who was carrying my small baby. We returned home and thereafter, at about 00:00 to 01:00 on 25 January 2020, my wife and I left the house and went back to the municipal skip bin where we had dumped the body. As my wife was a distance away from the skip bin, I walked up to it and set the body of Akundaishe on fire. We then returned home. I do not know why my wife was following me all along, but I did not force her to do so. It was never my intention to kill Akundaishe, but this was a mistake that I made. I was arrested on Saturday, 26 January 2020,” Nkata said. – Informante