A 44-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly assaulting her seven-year-old son at Onashiku shaLaban village in the Oshakati district.

The Namibian Police Force’s Crime Investigations Coordinator for Oshana, Deputy Commissioner Frederick Ndjadila, said the incident occurred around 07h00 on Thursday.

According to Ndjadila, the boy and two other minors were left home alone by the woman and her boyfriend the previous night when they went to the local cuca shops.

The children went to a neighbour’s house, where they eventually spent the night.

The woman and her boyfriend only came home at 23h00 but did not collect the children from the neighbour’s house.

“Thursday morning, when the older boy went to get dressed for school, his mother was waiting for him outside, and she allegedly hit him with a belt. She hit his left eye, and it got swollen,” Ndjadila said.

He noted that the school management reported the matter to the police due to the severity of the injury and the lack of cooperation from the boy’s mother.

The woman was arrested, and the boy was taken to the Oshakati State Hospital, where he received medical attention.

Ndjadila further stated that all three children were removed from the woman’s house and taken to her grandmother with the support of a social worker.

Police investigations into the matter continue.