Councillor condemns Odibo church murder

ODIBO, 16 JUN  – Ohangwena Regional Councillor for the Oshikango Constituency, Phillip Namundjebo said the killing of Titus Kaluvi, 28, inside the Odibo Anglican Church last week has tarnished the image of his constituency.
Odibo St Mary’s Anglican Mission Centre, where a gang of young men allegedly violently attacked Kaluvi on 09 June, falls under the Oshikango Constituency.
Speaking during Kaluvi’s memorial service at Odibo on Thursday, Namundjebo said the killing inside the church building has sent a shockwave across the country and beyond.
“This tragic incident has shocked many people in our constituency and the country at large, due to the fact that [Kaluvi] was killed in the church, where orderly behaviour is expected, and that the culprits are of young age.”
Namundjebo said it is a pity that the suspects in the matter are all youths “who are supposedly the future leaders of families, the church and the nation”.
Most speakers during the memorial service claimed that Kaluvi’s alleged murderers were intoxicated and as such, Namundjebo called on young people in the constituency to refrain from alcohol and drug misuse.
Representative of Odibo village headman and Minister of Safety and Security Charles Namoloh, Meekulu Caner Kalimba told the mourners that criminality is perpetrated at Odibo always by people who are not residents of the village.
“Therefore, it is high time for investigations and evaluation to be carried out among the people of our community if a solution to this problem is to be found,” said Kalimba.
Kaluvi was buried at Odibo on Friday.
The four young men arrested in connection with his death made their first appearance in the Ohangwena Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Magistrate Letta Simon postponed their case to 21 June to allow for further police investigations and their application for legal aid. They were remanded in police custody.
The accused, Mathias Nakale and Petrus Weyulu Mweendobe, 21; and two minor boys aged 17, allegedly attacked and seriously injured Kaluvi inside the church and he was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital near the church.
It is alleged that Kaluvi’s demand for the four accused to remove their caps inside the church angered them.

NAMPA