The parents of a stillborn baby boy, who was pronounced dead at birth and later allegedly went missing from the Windhoek State Mortuary in December of last year, are still searching for answers.
Patricia Pienaar and Randall Garieseb say that they are enduring a nightmare as they face challenges in finding closure.
Patricia's story begins with a full-term pregnancy, during which everything seemed normal.
She shares her excitement about becoming a mother again.
However, her joy quickly turned into sorrow when she received the devastating news from the medical staff at Katutura State Hospital.
They informed her that her son had died shortly after birth.
The cause of death was identified as the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck, leading to restricted blood flow.
Subsequently, Patricia was informed that her son's body would be transferred to the Windhoek State Mortuary. This occurred on Christmas Day last year.
Due to financial constraints, Patricia and Randall made the decision to hold a modest funeral for their son.
However, in January, they were confronted with a shocking revelation when they went to collect his remains from the mortuary.
To their dismay, the grieving parents were informed that their son's remains could not be located.
After nearly six months had passed, the nbc News team visited Patricia and Randall to learn more about their heartbreaking ordeal.
"We have not heard anything from the authorities, not even from a social worker to aid us in dealing with this matter. We have no idea, not even a clue, what is happening or what has happened. I listen to religious programmes on Kaisames FM to deal with the trauma," says Patricia.
"All I want to hear as a father is that my son's body has been found, or that this and that happened to your son's body. I just want closure. I want to sleep at night. Regardless of what might have happened to his remains, I just want an answer," says Randall.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services had previously informed the nbc that they had initiated an internal investigation into the perplexing disappearance of the baby's body.
However, as time has passed without any reported progress, Patricia and Randall express their dissatisfaction, stating that this response is inadequate.
They lament the fact that they feel they are being passed around without any resolution, highlighting the lack of regular communication and the absence of closure from the health authorities.
"At the start, we were told that my girlfriend's brother, who is an undertaker, claimed the body, and then we were told that the body disappeared from the mortuary. I have so many questions."
"If it is the case that someone else went and claimed the body, how was that allowed without the consent of the two of us who are the parents."
Ever since the news of their son's body disappearing came to light, Gariseb has been making the journey from Hakahana to the state mortuary, hoping to find answers regarding the whereabouts of his baby's remains.
Sources from the mortuary who spoke with nbc News revealed that Pienaar's brother, an undertaker himself, had visited the mortuary in January to identify the baby's body.
However, authorities insist in their assertion that there is no documentation indicating that the brother or any other individual could have taken the body.
The head of the mortuary declined to comment, redirecting the news team to the head office, which maintained that investigations are still underway.