Staff Reporter
WILHELMINA Waterboer, a 39-year-old mother of five daughters, has lost her life, joining the staggering number of Namibian women murdered by their romantic partners, with their existences seemingly fading into the silence of statistics.
Just over the past four years, Namibia has recorded about 18 500 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases, whilst 4,965 cases were recorded between 2025 and 2026.
The suspect, Jeffrey Dirks, appeared on a charge of murder read with the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act and assault GBH. He was kept in custody after his first appearance in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 6 October 2026. He was released and rearrested on Tuesday, 5 October, after the 48-hour window period upon which he had to appear in court had expired.
The case was postponed to 27 January 2027 for further investigations with the State objecting to the granting of bail due to the seriousness of the offence, the fact that investigations are still not complete and that it would not be in the interest of the public to release the accused on bail. It was further indicated that a post mortem would be conducted to determine the cause of death as well a photo plan of the scene.
According to the police report, the incident of murder happened on 2 October 2026, at about 09:40 at a house in Illeni location. It is alleged that Dirks and Waterboer allegedly had an argument that had led to a physical fight. No visible injuries or open wounds were observed on the body of the deceased, and she was declared dead by an ambulance which arrived at the residence.
Federicka Mattroos, the 47-year-old best friend of the late Waterboer, had allegedly been called by the daughter of Waterboer, Saturday who had, in a panicked phone call, asked Mattroos, which she referred to as “Auntie Babes”, to come to their residence as her mother had not been feeling well.
Mattroos said that when she had arrived at the residence of Waterboer, she saw the deceased lying on the floor inside the house, whilst the accused, Dirks, allegedly lay on a mat in front of the front entrance of the house, blocking entry to the home.
Mattroos said that the deceased, Waterboer, had cried out to her and asked her to call an ambulance, stating that she was dying.
Shocked at the scene unfolding in front of her, Mattroos had allegedly looked at the deceased in silence, and turned on her heel and gone to summon two female cousins of Dirks, and returned to the residence.
Upon her arrival, the deceased, Waterboer, had allegedly at that point been carried out of the house by her daughter and a neighbour as she said that she was suffocating. The suspect, Dirks, is said to have kept on lying on the mat in front of the house, unmoved by the commotion.
Mattroos said that the suspect and Waterboer had a turbulent relationship and that he would sometimes physically assault Waterboer. On the date that Waterboer died, Mattroos said that Dirks had allegedly been observed carrying around a metal pipe, and that police had also confiscated a mangled chair from the scene which they suspect he used to assault the victim.
“Wilhelmina’s daughter had carried her out as she said she was suffocating. She said she had pain on her lower back. She called an ambulance; however, she was already unconscious and she died there,” Mattroos said.
An emotional Mattroos said that she had known the deceased for a long time and described her as a happy woman who loved to have conversations.
PICTURED: Wilhelmina Waterboer, the 39-year-old mother of five who was allegedly murdered in Keetmanshoop. Photo: Contributed
