Windhoek nanny acquitted of killing toddler
Publish date: 17 July 2017
Issue Number: 734
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Namibia
A woman who was charged with murder after a baby who had been in her care died of internal bleeding has been acquitted in the Windhoek Regional Court. Magdalena Naris (30) had pleaded not guilty at the start of her trial on 15 June. Naris was accused of having killed one-year-old Hope Uhongora on 22 February 2015. The Namibian reports that she had been looking after the boy and other children at his grandmother's house the day before he died. In his ruling, Magistrate Ileni Velikoshi noted that a doctor who carried out an autopsy on the victim three days after his death found that his liver was ruptured and that he had died of internal bleeding. The doctor also found that there were fractures to his rib cartilage, and observed bruises on his chest. The court could not discount the possibility that the boy was injured while playing outside with other children on the day he died.