Niël Terblanché
Two murder suspects Jonathan Patrick Myburgh and Jannie Jansen van Vuuren are in custody at Rooidag Hek veterinary control point on the way to Tsumkwe after a local farmer convinced them to hand themselves over to police at the outpost.
The nationwide manhunt ended abruptly after the two young men accused of murdering an informal trader in Otjiwarongo on Wednesday were arrested on Saturday afternoon.
The head of the Namibian Police’s Public Relations Division, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, confirmed that the two suspects were arrested at around 15:45 at the veterinary control point to the east of Grootfontein.
She said that Myburgh and Jansen van Vuuren will be transported back to Otjiwarongo where they will most likely make their first appearance on a murder charge on Monday.
The head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Commissioner Nelius Becker said the two young security guards were not the only people involved in the brutal attack at the Savemore Etemba Plaza Supermarket that led to the death of the 43-year-old Zimbabwean National, who made a living as a street vendor.
Commissioner Becker said four other people which include employees of the shop in Otjiwarongo have already been arrested in connection with the murder and will appear along with Myburgh and Jansen van Rensburg in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court.
According to the initial report issued by Nampol’s Public Relations Division, the attack occurred after the deceased person was caught stealing a small bottle of wood glue from the shop.
The victim succumbed to injuries while admitted to a hospital in Otjiwarongo
Myburgh and van Vuuren fled from Otjiwarongo after the attack on the street vendor and were hiding on a farm to the east of Grootfontein ever since.
