The father of the two-year-old, Lydia Namusha, killed at Ohalumbele Village in the Omusati Region, has lamented that the incident left him heartbroken.
 
The toddler was allegedly murdered by Juuso Namusha's girlfriend, Hilma Hiskia, out of jealousy last week Friday.
 
Speaking at a family homestead where the two families are gathered ahead of the memorial and burial services, Namusha described his daughter as an innocent, jovial child.
 
He said the accused made threats that she would do something that would land her in jail, following a breakup.
 
Namusha, 59 years-old, indicated that his relationship with the 31-year-old Hiskia, which lasted for about seven months, has been rocky, but he never thought she would cause harm to an innocent child.
 
Namusha ended the relationship and asked the accused to move out of his house.
 
It is alleged that Hiskia sneaked into the house and committed the murder.

“She suffocated the child by covering her nose and mouth and then strangled her in a mahangu field. She intended to kill her and take the lifeless body back into the room to make it appear as though the child had died in her sleep. However, that plan failed when we began searching for the child throughout the house. She must not be released back into the community. It is wrong to kill an innocent child based on the assumption that the child’s mother and I were reconciling, which is not true.”
 
 Lydia was the last born of Eveline Abner. 

“She was indeed a lovable little girl, and I am pained by my child who was killed due to jealousy.”
  
 Both parents are unemployed and are still trying to figure out how they will bury their daughter.
 
Hiskia has been remanded in custody and will make her second appearance in the Outapi Magistrate's Court on 16 June on a charge of murder.