Windhoek - Namibians are outraged, shocked and incensed at the increasing number of passion murders committed by men ‑ a major concern that has prompted some members of the society, including politicians, to call for the reinstatement of the death penalty.

The community of Oshana region, north of the country, is still reeling in shock following the cold-blooded murder of two young women who were killed on the same day by their supposed lover.

The suspect, who attempted suicide by drinking poison after committing the crime, is currently under police guard while recuperating at Oshakati State Hospital.

In the same month, in Omusati region ‑also in the north ‑ a 35-year-old female was brutally killed by her fiancé, a member of the Namibia Defence Force, after the victim threatened to end their relationship. The fiancé committed suicide.

Early in June 2012, a 22-year-old student at the Polytechnic of Namibia was strangled with a tie, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend after she ended their relationship. The suspect was arrested and has been remanded in prison after a brief appearance in court.

Local experts The Southern Times spoke to have associated the increasing incidents of passion murders with family problems, changing values, loss of traditional patriarchy and failure by victims and perpetrators to meet societal expectations.

Other factors fuelling passion killing, according to experts, are social changes that have not attracted appropriate interventions, poor management of the transformation that is brought about by globalisation, and general loss of our inherited culture as a society.

Clinical Psychologist, Dr Shaun Whittaker, said passion killing is an issue of concern in Namibia, as more women continue to be brutally killed by their partners.

Dr Whittaker said people need to understand the root causes of passion killing and come up with lasting solutions, and that, he added, can only be done if Namibia takes a pro-active approach to the matter.

One of the contributing factors is that some men find it difficult to accept rejection from someone they loved.

“Many men claim to have invested money in girls when they are at university, only for the girls to break up with them when they graduate or find a job.

“Men should learn how to deal with their feelings, learn to cope with disappointment and stop bottling things in.

“If you have a hard time letting go, then seek assistance. We have psychologists, priests, social workers.

“Men, and especially Namibian men, cheat on women and have multiple girlfriends. We know that it’s wrong but we still do it.

“But have you ever heard of a Namibian woman killing her boyfriend after her boyfriend ended their relationship or she found out that he has another girl on the side?” he stressed

Dr Whittaker noted that Namibia needs to find the exact answer to the problem.

“Should the country bring back the death penalty? Will it stop the passion killings?

“I personally don’t believe it will change anything. The United States has had it for decades and their domestic violence-related murder rates are still high,” he said.

Dr Whittaker emphasised that the best approach is to get to the root of the problem. “It will be more prudent to look at the causes of the problem rather than running towards the death penalty,” he said.

He said it is up to the media, psychologists and even psychiatrists to do some research, interview the perpetrators and delve deep into the issue.

Another contributing factor is the way the boy-child is brought up, Dr Whittaker said, adding that boys are not taught to accept themselves and to accept failure.

“The girl-child is allowed more time to express and appreciate herself and her feelings than the boy-child. They can spend more time in front of the mirror appreciating themselves, but if the boy-child does the same, he is generally ridiculed and reminded that he is a man.

“So boys are not given the opportunity to explore and get to know themselves. The girl-child is pampered, and the boy-child is left to go his own way with other boys,” he said.

He said culture plays a very import role when it comes to passion killing as most of the people think it is okay for a man to beat a woman, which is not right in a democratic country.

Dr Whittaker argued that we are not united in a single culture: we all exist as individuals.

“Youths have run out of control and they don’t listen to anybody, that is why they kill.

“We need to go back to our roots, to revive the role of parents and of chiefs in raising children. Let all the elderly be parents to all youths, and let's bring our children to order. We need to reinstate our traditional structures which kept society together,” he said.

Dr Whittaker also raised the issue of whether there is political will to face up to “passion killings” as a societal problem. Society needs to be sensitised to the issue, so that meaningful interventions can be made.

He also urged women to be careful not to fall for strangers. He urged the women to study men before falling in love with them.

“Get to know him for a month or two and get to know him inside out before you start going out with this person,” he said.

Of values as a society he asked, “Where are the values that used to keep us together – listening to, respecting, and obeying each other?

“In the past there was a traditional patriarchy in which people knew how to conduct themselves, unfortunately traditional systems have been eroding, and there are no strategies to replace them.”

Dr Whittaker said the system of patriarchy where older men head families and make all decisions, including those that oppress women, sometimes lead to women being killed.

Reverend Dr Ngeno Nakamela, Chairperson of Namibia Men for Change (Namec) ‑ a non-profit organisation that advocates against domestic violence ‑ argued that suicide and crime of passion are indicators of a range of problems.  According to Rev Nakamela, three main causes lead to passion crimes ‑ individual behavioural problems (mood disorders), individual failure to meet societal expectations, and family problems (diseases, divorces, identity crisis).

Rev Nakamela pointed out the need for research on the main causes of “this barbaric killing of young people and to come up with everlasting solutions”.

He argued that, “We all suffer from globalisation and social change, but there are no interventions and structures in place to manage them.

“Do we have enough professionals and are they doing their role effectively? There is need to educate society on the best interventions,” he questions.

Rev Nakamela said that naturally men do not know how to control their anger. He recommended workshops and meetings to encourage young people to gather and express themselves on these issues.

He noted that there is need to understand “who we are, and how we should respond to social transformation”.

There are issues of parameters that cannot solve problems, as they only deal with the effect (result) and not the cause, Rev Nakamela said.

He said the family ‑ as the foundation and role model ‑ needs to teach citizens how to love, respect and value themselves.

He further said, “We should learn to communicate and express ourselves to those who matter to us; lest we go out and believe that the only way to solve our problems is by taking our lives.

“Family is the fountain of morality, and the backbone of society. But the family is gradually disintegrating, as evidenced by increased immorality, extra-marital affairs and divorces, which do not set a good example for the love relationships of youth,” Rev Nakamela said.