An Elcin reverend officiating at the funeral of 24-year-old Mirjam Nandjato, who was last week murdered and decapitated by her boyfriend in Oshakati, has lashed out at Namibia’s youth for neglecting God in favour of social networking, movies and living together before marriage.
Nandjato was buried on Saturday at Ongwediva.
Several hundred mourners, including Ongwediva councillor Vinia Abisai, paid their final respects at the funeral held at the local Elcin congregation.
Reverend Arvid Shalongo ya Shalongo said during the ceremony that any murder of a brutal nature was sad, and another reminder that the youth have become corrupted and are no longer trying to live righteously.
Ya Shalongo said youth nowadays spend endless hours on social networking sites like Facebook, as well as watching movies on their laptops, and no longer come to church to hear the gospel.
He also slammed the growing trend among the youth of cohabitation before marriage, saying such ungodly acts can only end in a fate similar to Nandjato’s.
In her eulogy, the late Nandjato was described as a kind and sweet girl, who was well-organised and loved cooking.
She is survived by her mother and seven siblings, as her father passed away in 1996 while Nandjato was only six years old.
Suspect appears
Meanwhile, Nandjato’s long-time boyfriend and her self-confessed killer Ananias Ekongo Nailenge on Friday pleaded guilty during an emotional appearance at the Oshakati Magistrate’s Court.
Asked by Magistrate Mika Namweya why he was pleading guilty, the 24-year-old murder suspect responded: “Because I’m the one who killed her.”
Nailenge, who chose to conduct his own defence, also gave chilling details of how he first stabbed Nandjato with a knife and immediately proceeded to cut her throat, causing her to die instantly.
Addressing a jam-packed court room consisting of his, as well as his victim’s relatives, Nailenge painted a picture of a troubled relationship, which ended in cold-blood murder, following a quarrel last Tuesday at his Oshakati-West rental room.
“We had a misunderstanding and she was always threatening me. On the day that I killed her she was fighting me and threatening me, and so I decided to kill her,” Nailenge told the court.
Asked by Namweya what he meant by Nandjato threatening him, Nailenge elaborated by claiming his girlfriend was constantly threatening to kill him or the baby he conceived with another woman during a brief break-up in 2012.
“Actually she started fighting me first. When she came to my room we were arguing and she started fighting me and I pushed her. I lost my temper. My intention was not to kill her,” Nailenge said.
He added that while he knew that a stab wound to the chest can be fatal, he also knew there was a chance that she would have survived and his intention was simply to hurt her.
“I just wanted to hurt her. I did not have an intention to kill her,” he said, as the courtroom was filled with gasps of shock.
Public prosecutor Leonard Tjiveze said the State would object to bail, should Nailenge bring an application of that nature.
The matter has been postponed to April 23 for further police investigations.
Namweya also announced that the matter would be send to the Office of the Prosecutor-General for decision.
Nailenge has been remanded in custody.
ONGWEDIVA MERJA IILEKA