Baby’s mysterious death leaves parents heartbroken

PARENTS of the one-month-old baby, Paulus Munyandi, are heartbroken after they discovered their baby's lifeless body on Sunday in their room at Windhoek's Havana informal settlement.

“Our baby's death is a shock because he was born perfectly well and he was not sick or anything,” says the father of the deceased, Timoteus Munyandi.

The grieving father says he usually wakes up early every morning to go to work, and Sunday morning was no different.

“I woke up and returned home with my brother and noticed that the baby was still sleeping,” Timoteus says.

However, he told The Namibian that he was not worried at the time, because he thought the baby was sleeping, like any other baby.

“Next thing I hear is my girlfriend crying so loud and running out of the room.

“She ran and told me the baby is not moving, so my brother ran in and returned to me, and by his face, I immediately knew that the baby was dead.”

Timoteus says he refused to go into the room to see his baby lying lifeless.

“The baby died at around 09h00 and we only noticed it at around 12h00,” he says.

Timoteus expressed his frustration with the Namibian Police for only arriving at the scene four hours after they were informed.

“The police took so long to come to our house, we reported the matter at around 12h00 and they only came later in the afternoon, at around 16h00,” Timoteus says.

The mother of the deceased, Ndahambela Lukas (21), is still unsure of what caused her baby's death.

“I don't think it is the cold because we have blankets in our house,” she says.

One of the family's neighbours, who prefers anonymity, says the Namibian Police never attend to their calls on time.

“In Havana, having the police arrive on time is rare.”

Namibian Police deputy commissioner James Nandapo says the cause of death of the baby was natural.

“It was a natural death of a baby boy at home in Havana, close to the dumping site.”

Police investigations continue.