Ex-cop Eimbeck vows not to be cowed by shots that killed his wife

THE Police were still trying yesterday to trace whoever killed the wife of a former top officer in the Namibian Police on the northern outskirts of Windhoek on Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after 17h00 on Tuesday, former Police Commissioner Sigi Eimbeck discovered his wife, Annegret (53), dead in the Nissan 1400 pick-up in which she had been on her way to the couple’s home on a smallholding at Nubuamis, north of the capital. She had been shot in the head, and appeared to have died instantly, Eimbeck said yesterday.Mrs Eimbeck worked with an HIV-AIDS testing and counselling project at the Katutura headquarters of the Council of Churches in Namibia.She was a medical technologist who performed HIV tests.At about 16h00 on Tuesday, she left work for home, Eimbeck said.According to the Police, the time of her shooting is thought to have been about 16h45.Late yesterday afternoon a Police spokesman, Sergeant James Matengu, reported that no arrests had been made, and that the Police were thinking of offering a reward for information that would lead to the arrest of the killer, or killers.Robbery appeared to have been the motive for the crime, Eimbeck told The Namibian.The former senior Policeman said that, when his wife had not arrived home by 17h00 on Tuesday, he decided to check whether she had encountered trouble on the road.The couple had travelled on the same road daily for some 20 years without any problems, Eimbeck said.It is a dirt road that winds northwards over the hilly terrain of the Nubuamis-Brakwater area, after splitting off from the tarred streets of the Ombili section of Okuryangava, itself an area where houses sprang up only after the Eimbecks had lived on their plot for years already.Mrs Eimbeck’s vehicle was found about 1,5 kilometres from the Eimbecks’ smallholding.The window on the driver’s side was partly rolled down, and she appears to have been shot through the gap, while driving uphill.From tracks on the road it could be deduced that the vehicle had veered off to the left, where a high dirt embankment caused it to rebound to the right before it re-crossed the narrow gravel road, coming to a standstill against an embankment on the right-hand side of the road.The vehicle’s right door was found open.The only item that appears to have been stolen was Mrs Eimbeck’s handbag, thought to contain little more than a few personal items such as lipstick and perhaps a small amount of money.He and Annegret Eimbeck had been married for 31 years.Mrs Eimbeck is survived by her husband and two children.Eimbeck said he was somewhat consoled by the thought that his wife had apparently died instantly.He said he wanted to emphasise that he and his family had resolved that such an act of violence would not turn them into victims or scare them into giving up their desire to help build a better future for Namibia.If anything, they would want Mrs Eimbeck’s death to strengthen their resolve to contribute to finding a solution that would end the misery such crimes caused in Namibia, he said.The way his wife died this week was just another indication of circumstances that should not be acceptable to anybody, he added.He identified those circumstances as deficiencies in the nation’s social fibre and the lack of basic necessities for many in the community.A memorial service for Mrs Eimbeck will be held at the Stadtmission, 61 Ester Brand Street, Olympia, this Saturday at 11h00.She had been shot in the head, and appeared to have died instantly, Eimbeck said yesterday.Mrs Eimbeck worked with an HIV-AIDS testing and counselling project at the Katutura headquarters of the Council of Churches in Namibia.She was a medical technologist who performed HIV tests.At about 16h00 on Tuesday, she left work for home, Eimbeck said.According to the Police, the time of her shooting is thought to have been about 16h45.Late yesterday afternoon a Police spokesman, Sergeant James Matengu, reported that no arrests had been made, and that the Police were thinking of offering a reward for information that would lead to the arrest of the killer, or killers.Robbery appeared to have been the motive for the crime, Eimbeck told The Namibian.The former senior Policeman said that, when his wife had not arrived home by 17h00 on Tuesday, he decided to check whether she had encountered trouble on the road.The couple had travelled on the same road daily for some 20 years without any problems, Eimbeck said.It is a dirt road that winds northwards over the hilly terrain of the Nubuamis-Brakwater area, after splitting off from the tarred streets of the Ombili section of Okuryangava, itself an area where houses sprang up only after the Eimbecks had lived on their plot for years already.Mrs Eimbeck’s vehicle was found about 1,5 kilometres from the Eimbecks’ smallholding.The window on the driver’s side was partly rolled down, and she appears to have been shot through the gap, while driving uphill.From tracks on the road it could be deduced that the vehicle had veered off to the left, where a high dirt embankment caused it to rebound to the right before it re-crossed the narrow gravel road, coming to a standstill against an embankment on the right-hand side of the road.The vehicle’s right door was found open.The only item that appears to have been stolen was Mrs Eimbeck’s handbag, thought to contain little more than a few personal items such as lipstick and perhaps a small amount of money.He and Annegret Eimbeck had been married for 31 years.Mrs Eimbeck is survived by her husband and two children.Eimbeck said he was somewhat consoled by the thought that his wife had apparently died instantly.He said he wanted to emphasise that he and his family had resolved that such an act of violence would not turn them into victims or scare them into giving up their desire to help build a better future for Namibia.If anything, they would want Mrs Eimbeck’s death to strengthen their resolve to contribute to finding a solution that would end the misery such crimes caused in Namibia, he said.The way his wife died this week was just another indication of circumstances that should not be acceptable to anybody, he added.He identified those circumstances as deficiencies in the nation’s social fibre and the lack of basic necessities for many in the community.A memorial service for Mrs Eimbeck will be held at the Stadtmission, 61 Ester Brand Street, Olympia, this Saturday at 11h00.