Niël Terblanché
The bodies of two young men were recovered from the sea at Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, under circumstances that have raised suspicions of suicide over the past weekend.
The first body was discovered early on Friday morning, floating in the shallow waters of the Walvis Bay lagoon.
The deceased was identified as the 24-year-old Bradley Nande Abjatar.
According to Chief Inspector Ileni Shapumba, head of community affairs for the police in the Erongo region, Abjatar’s family reported that he had left their home in Windhoek on 7 September without informing them of his destination.
He also left a note indicating that he did not intend to return.
The grim discovery was made by an employee of a local harbour tour company, who spotted Abjatar’s body in the water.
Police officers, assisted by private individuals, responded to the scene at the Water Front, a popular tourist destination in Walvis Bay.
A member of the public brought the body ashore, and it was hastily covered with a blanket before being transported by the police.
Upon examination, officers found a wallet containing Abjatar’s identification documents inside a backpack strapped tightly to his body.
The backpack also contained a large, heavy rock, raising further questions about the circumstances leading to his death.
Shapumba confirmed that the police investigation is ongoing to determine the actual cause of Abjatar’s death and how his body ended up in the lagoon.
A day later, a second body was recovered from the sea at Swakopmund.
The remains of the 27-year-old Matias Lukas Shilingweni, who was last seen jumping off the old jetty on 5 September, were retrieved after nine days of searching.
Shilingweni’s jump was witnessed by staff at the Jetty Restaurant, who reported that he disappeared beneath the waves soon after.
Shapumba indicated that Shilingweni’s brother, who was called to the scene shortly after he jumped, confirmed to the police that the two siblings lived together in the DRC informal settlement on the outskirts of Swakopmund.
His body was eventually spotted floating in the swells near the mole, a section of the beach about two kilometres away from the jetty
A private sea rescue team was dispatched to retrieve the body, and they used kayaks to bring Shilingweni’s remains to shore.
Members of the public, who had kept a watchful eye on the beaches since his disappearance, played a crucial role in reporting the sighting.
In both cases, postmortem examinations are scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.
