WINDHOEK: Usakos Mayor, Irene Simeon-Kurtz has expressed concern over alleged delayed action by the police in response to an incident of a 29-year-old woman who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend on Saturday.
In a press statement issued on Sunday by the Office of the Mayor, she highlighted the slow response to the incident reportedly due to the non-availability of drivers for both police and ambulance services to the scene of the crime around 05h20 in the Saamstaan residential area.
A crime report by the Namibian Police Force indicates that the deceased, Lena Williams, was allegedly stabbed several times with a knife by her 26-year-old ex-boyfriend and father of their three-year-old daughter. She was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival.
Simeon-Kurtz also noted the slow action of the police, in this instance to protect the deceased, saying she was killed weeks after she had alerted the police that she feared for her life.
‘As mayor of the town of Usakos, I condemn the bruta
l act of killing an innocent young lady who felt unsafe in the last weeks of her life in her own home. There is no justification for such crimes nor her murder,’ she said.
She indicated that in February 2024, her office offered office space free of charge to the Usakos police to put up a satellite police station in Hakhaseb with the belief that this would help reduce crime in Hakhaseb especially over weekends, stressing that it is a necessity and cannot be delayed any longer.
‘We will follow up on our request as a matter of urgency. A satellite police station in Hakhaseb will ensure that criminal activities of this nature are dealt with speedily,’ she added.
Simeon-Kurtz further urged Usakos residents to stand together and report any violence to authorities, while also pleading with the chief of police in the Erongo Region to deploy stringent measures to root out evil in society, noting that there is a need to stand in unison as a community and in unison as women.
‘Usakos belongs to everyone, and every ci
tizen must feel safe and protected. We say enough is enough, let us deal with violent crime including domestic violence. There should be no tolerance for wrongdoers in Usakos,’ she wrote.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency