Two suicides recorded at Swakopmund

SWAKOPMUND - The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) has confirmed two alleged suicides in the Erongo region over the weekend.

NamPol’s Erongo Community Policing Commander, Inspector Ileni Shapumba said one of the incidents involved a 52-yearold man, identified as Ben Coetzee, who reportedly shot himself in the head with a hunting rifle on Wednesday morning.

The crime report issued on Saturday states that on Tuesday, the deceased told his landlord that he was going to Walvis Bay to visit, and would return the following day.

On Wednesday at about 03h00, the landlord reportedly heard an unusual sound while she was sleeping and awoke to inspect the house, but found nothing and went back to sleep.

“On Thursday, a person who wanted to view the flat in which the deceased lived came by. But when they could not gain entry after several efforts to contact the deceased, they broke down one of the doors to the flat. It was after entering the flat that they came across blood flowing from the sleeping room,” Shapumba added.

The police were then called, and found the deceased in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to the head and a hunting rifle next to him, as well as a suicide note.

In a separate incident, the body of 48-year-old Johannes Matheus was discovered on Saturday at the Swakopmund airport, where he reportedly hung himself from the poles of the airport yard.

The body was taken to the Swakopmund State Hospital’s mortuary for storage.

The next of kin in both incidences were informed of the deaths, and police investigations continue.