…as autopsy revealed Maasdorp’s face had been skinned and hips broken

Renthia Kaimbi

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl in Okahandja and has allegedly confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering Ingrid Maasdorp and Roswinds Fabianu in March last year.

The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was reportedly apprehended on Saturday, 10 October 2026, after allegedly accosting two girls walking from a plot to Nau-Aib location.

According to information provided by the Namibian Police in the weekend crime report, the suspect allegedly grabbed the 10-year-old girl, produced a knife and threatened her.

The other girl fled and alerted two security officers, who reportedly caught the suspect while he was attempting to undress the victim.

He was subsequently detained at Okahandja Police Station.

The arrest has taken a dramatic turn in the investigation into last year’s brutal killings of the two minor children, with police sources indicating that the suspect allegedly confessed during questioning to abducting, raping and killing them.

Maasdorp disappeared from her Grade 0 classroom at K W von Maree Combined School on 20 March 2025. Her body was discovered the following day under a bridge along the B1 road.

A source close to Maasdorp’s family has told the Windhoek Observer that her autopsy report allegedly revealed that half of her face had been skinned and that her hips had been broken in a manner the source compared to how one would “break a full chicken up”.

The source suggested that the severity and nature of Maasdorp’s injuries had strengthened the family’s belief that she may have been tortured before she was killed and her body dumped.

The suspect reportedly attended K W von Maree Combined School in Okahandja last year, the same school attended by Maasdorp and Fabianu.

It has also been alleged that he participated in a protest organised by community members following the murders, a development that has reportedly further shocked members of the community.

It remains unclear whether the suspect’s alleged confession will resolve inconsistencies in witness accounts surrounding Maasdorp’s disappearance, including descriptions of a person seen accompanying a child matching her description on the morning she went missing.

Court documents filed in the High Court on Monday contain statements from witnesses who recalled seeing Maasdorp at school on 20 March 2025.

One of her classmates reportedly told teachers that an “aunty came to get Ingrid”.

The boy described the woman as tall and light in complexion and later pointed to a bonnet worn by someone in the school office, indicating that the person who took Maasdorp had been wearing similar headwear.

In a separate account, a woman travelling to work at around 07:30 that morning reportedly told police she saw a child matching Maasdorp’s description, wearing a pink hoodie and school skirt, walking behind the school hostel towards the B1 road.

The child was allegedly accompanied by a slender person wearing a head covering described as a beanie, a hoodie and maroon tracksuit pants matching the school uniform. The woman’s colleague reportedly corroborated the account.

It has not been established whether these descriptions match the 18-year-old suspect or whether another person was involved in Maasdorp’s disappearance.

Police have not publicly clarified the apparent discrepancies.

The witness statements also raise questions about security arrangements at the school on the morning Maasdorp disappeared.

A 13-year-old relative of Maasdorp who accompanied her into the schoolyard that morning, reportedly said the security guard was not at the gate.

Another 12-year-old relative, who remained in a vehicle with their grandfather, reportedly observed that the gate was open.

In a statement, Maasdorp’s maternal grandmother and primary caregiver, Dolly Maasdorp, said the security guard arrived only after 08:00 because it had been raining.

She also alleged that the school principal was absent because roads were impassable and that Maasdorp’s class teacher allegedly only arrived after 08:00, leaving the Grade 0 classroom locked and learners unattended outside.

Maasdorp was reported missing around midday after her grandfather, Donovan Maasdorp, went to collect her and found the school gates locked with nobody around.

A search followed, with her grandmother reportedly making several unsuccessful attempts to reach the class teacher by telephone.

According to her account, a young female police constable eventually insisted that a missing-person report be registered despite initial reluctance from other officers.

Maasdorp’s body was subsequently discovered the following day.

Her grandmother previously described the injuries she observed when viewing her body at the mortuary, alleging that the child’s back and legs were severely bruised and cut, as though she had been beaten with a sjambok.

She also described the skin on one side of the child’s face as having been peeled away and said medical personnel informed her that Maasdorp’s hips were broken and that she had been raped.

The court documents further indicate that another child (Fabianu) from the same school disappeared on 24 April 2025 and was later found dead at a nearby cemetery.

It remains unclear whether the 18-year-old suspect has been linked to that case.

Acting Inspector General of Police Anne-Marie Nainda is expected to provide further information at a press conference on Thursday.

The latest arrest comes as Maasdorp’s family pursues a civil claim against the government over the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and death.

Her grandmother alleges that the school failed to adequately respond to concerns raised by the family following Ingrid’s death.

She reportedly sent a letter to the school on 7 August 2025 requesting an investigation report, daily security reports, the names of security personnel on duty and the learners’ register.

According to the claim, the family contends that the government, as the owner and operator of the school, failed to provide a safe learning environment.

The claim refers to section 40(1) of the Labour Act and section 8(1) of the Basic Education Act, arguing that the government should be held liable for alleged acts and omissions by the school principal, teachers and support personnel.

The family is seeking N$2.2 million in compensation.

The matter, registered under case number HC-MD-CIV-ACT-DEL-2026/00762, is pending before the High Court of Namibia’s Main Division.

The suspect’s alleged confession, the extent of the injuries described by the family source and any possible connection to other killings remain matters requiring confirmation through the police investigation and court proceedings.

The suspect is yet to appear in court on the latest allegations that remain subject to the legal process.