Desmarius Hansen
An open school gate, missing attendance registers, teachers who had left before midday and an internal investigation report the government refuses to disclose have emerged in court documents relating to the disappearance and murder of six-year-old Ingrid Maasdorp.
Statements by four school employees, filed as witnesses for the government in a civil claim brought by Ingrid’s grandmother, Dollie Maasdorp, provide a detailed account of the circumstances at K.W. von Maree Combined School in Okahandja on 20 March 2025.
They also raise questions about learner supervision, attendance monitoring and the school’s ability to account for children entrusted to its care.
Ingrid disappeared from the school on 20 March and was found dead the following day.
The court battle comes as the criminal investigation has taken a significant turn. In October, police announced the arrest of an 18-year-old suspect in connection with the murders of Ingrid and Roswinds Fabianu after DNA evidence linked him to one of the crime scenes.
The suspect, identified in court reports as Karinambande Muundjua, appeared in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court on 15 October and was denied bail on charges including murder, rape and kidnapping.
“I’m sorry for the things I have done,” the suspect reportedly told the court. The matter was postponed to 2 March 2027 for further investigation.
One of the most significant accounts comes from school security guard Musengua Tjikulya, who was responsible for controlling access through the school gate.
Tjikulya told the court that he was scheduled to start duty at 06:00 but arrived at approximately 08:00 because of heavy rain.
“When I arrived at the school, the gate was already open,” he stated.
He said many learners and several teachers had already left by the time he arrived, while those who remained were waiting for the rain to stop.
According to his statement, the gate was eventually closed at approximately 10:00, after the remaining teachers had left.
Tjikulya said he did not see anyone else remaining on the school premises thereafter and was alone on duty until approximately 18:00.
His statement also outlines the school’s procedure for learners leaving during school hours.
“During school hours, the gate is not opened for a learner to leave the school unless that learner has a permit from a teacher,” he said.
However, Tjikulya admitted that he did not know Ingrid personally and was unfamiliar with her appearance at the time. He therefore could not confirm whether he had seen her at school that day.
The accounts of the teachers present that morning offer further details about the school’s operations amid the heavy rain.
Petra Regina Nowases, Ingrid’s Grade 0 teacher, said she had informed parents and guardians on 19 March that the school would adjourn earlier the following day and that they should not send their children to school.
However, she acknowledged that she did not personally communicate this to every parent, as some collected their children while she was away from the classroom.
On 20 March, Nowases said she received a call at approximately 07:30 from a parent checking whether she had arrived. She informed the parent that she was running late and arrived shortly after 08:00.
Upon reaching her classroom, she found it empty.
“I did not personally see Ingrid in my classroom, nor did I see any of my learners in the Grade 0 block at that time,” she stated.
Nowases said she remained in her classroom marking books before leaving later that morning.
It was only between 15:00 and 16:00 that she noticed a missed call from Ingrid’s grandmother, who informed her that the child had not returned home.
Nowases subsequently went to the police station, where Ingrid had been reported missing, before returning to the school to contact parents and establish whether their children had attended.
Most parents reportedly told her that they had kept their children at home because of the heavy rain.
Another teacher, Joslitha Karika, offered a different perspective on the morning.
Karika, who was teaching Grade 5C in 2025, said she arrived between 07:20 and 07:25 and saw learners at the school despite the rain.
She said one of her learners, Angelina, informed her that her younger brother was in Grade 0. Karika then sent older learners to the junior primary section to check on the younger children.
She remained at the school until between 10:00 and 11:00 before leaving.
Meriam Owoses, who taught Grade 1B, also said she arrived that morning and remained at the school until approximately 11:00.
She said she did not personally see Ingrid or any Grade 0 learners in her block.
“When I left the school, I did not see any child remaining on the school grounds,” Owoses stated.
Nowases’ statement also provides an account of enquiries conducted the following morning, although she makes clear that she did not personally witness Ingrid being brought to school.
According to her, Ingrid’s male cousin was interviewed during the enquiries and reportedly told those present that he had escorted the child towards the Grade 0 classroom before returning to the vehicle.
He allegedly told his grandfather that he had left Ingrid in the company of “two or three girls” near the classroom.
Nowases said Ingrid’s cousin was subsequently asked to identify the girls using school application forms, after which three girls were identified.
Their parents were contacted and reportedly said all three children had been absent from school on 20 March.
Nowases stressed that her account of the cousin’s movements was based entirely on information relayed during the enquiries and not on her own observations.
She later participated in a search party alongside other teachers and members of the community. While searching near a bridge behind the school hostel, Ingrid was found.
The missing paper trail
The witness statements come against the backdrop of a separate dispute over the government’s refusal to disclose an internal investigation into Ingrid’s disappearance and death.
In an affidavit filed in the High Court and seen by the Windhoek Observer, the ministry’s chief industrial relations officer, Johannes Egumbo, confirmed that the Okahandja Education Circuit Inspectorate had compiled an internal report.
However, the government maintains that the report is confidential and privileged, effectively withholding its findings from Ingrid’s grandmother, who is seeking to use the document in her civil negligence claim.
Egumbo also stated that the school principal did not conduct an investigation.
The ministry further acknowledged that the Grade 0 teacher did not have an official learner register on the day Ingrid disappeared and was instead using a book to record attendance.
The teacher attendance register for that day also cannot be found.
According to Egumbo, the teacher informed the Ministry that she had left the book on a table but never returned to the school after the incident. The relief teacher who assisted in her place could not account for it.
The ministry also said it was attempting to locate directives that may have been issued by the principal under the Basic Education Regulations.
Meanwhile, the principal reportedly could not trace her communication to the regional director’s office.
Ingrid’s grandmother is seeking a court order compelling the government to disclose the inspectorate’s report, arguing that it is essential to her civil negligence claim and preparations for trial.
The concerns extend beyond Ingrid’s death.
In a letter dated 17 October 2026, Okahandja community activist Johannes /Gerub /Gâseb asked education minister Sanet Steenkamp to institute an independent investigation into the deaths of Ingrid and seven-year-old Roswinds Fabianu.
/Gâseb raised concerns about supervision, school security and information allegedly provided by school authorities following the children’s disappearances.
He also referred to a Windhoek Observer report published on 16 October, which cited sources alleging that the suspect in Roswinds’ murder lured her out through a hole in the school’s fence and later returned to the premises.
The newspaper could not independently verify all the details in that report, according to /Gâseb’s letter.
He requested investigations into the principal’s conduct, the teachers responsible for the children’s grades, school security arrangements and the preservation of attendance registers and other evidence.
In a response, ministry executive director Erastus Haitengela acknowledged the concerns but said the matters had been reported to the Namibian Police and the Office of the Government Attorney.
“Considering the above, you are advised to direct all the correspondences and inquiries to the Office of the Government Attorney for consideration,” he wrote.
The response did not indicate whether the ministry would institute the independent investigation requested by /Gâseb.
The government’s witness statements and the grandmother’s application have yet to establish negligence by any individual school employee.
The allegations remain subject to determination in the civil proceedings.
