The town of Okahandja has been plunged into mourning, with emotions running high, after the body of another missing six-year-old girl was found.

Controversy erupted when the mayor proceeded with preparations to host the annual Okahandja Expo.

Mayor Beatrice Katungondo had initially appealed to residents not to stage any demonstrations during the Expo, citing the municipality's inability to process petitions during the event.

Residents, in shock at the tragic death of the young Roslin Fabian, expressed outrage and distress, proclaiming it would be uncouth and disrespectful to hold such festivities while they were grieving.

Roslin was last seen on Thursday morning, off to school — but her body was found a day later behind the Vedersdal cemetery after an all-out police and marshal search.

"We, the community, want the expo to be postponed so we can catch the serial killer. This issue is so serious that even the president voiced her concerns loudly yesterday. So, instead of having this expo, we know you committed yourself to your suppliers, to your artists and your stages and whatever. Money is nothing, so we want this whole thing to be stopped," said community member, |Gerub |Gaseb.

Roselin attended the same school as Ingrid Maasdorp, a five-year-old who had also gone missing a few weeks earlier, only to be found dead.

It was found through an autopsy that Ingrid had been raped and strangled.

Overwhelmed by anger, the residents believe that the two murders are connected and have vowed to stay firm against the municipality's plans, insisting that no festivities will be permitted as long as the alleged murderer is still at large.

Mayor Katungondo stated that she personally took part in the work of search and was deeply touched by Roslin's death. 

She still initially emphasised that the expo could not be postponed, as it had been a year in preparation.

However, it was impossible to silence the people's outcry. After holding consultations with Deputy Minister of Education Dino Ballotti and other officials, the mayor agreed to postpone the Expo.

"In the space of less than a month, from the very same school, and you are telling me as a municipality you still want to continue with dancing and selling kapana while we have got children who have died. We recently had a founding father who died; the whole country came to a stop. Now, because these children are from poor families, you want to say we can not shut down Okahandja and ensure that these culprits are caught," asked activist Michael Amushelelo.

The mayor, along with Deputy Minister Ballotti, could not contain their emotions as they shared their condolences with Roslin's mother, who was clearly shattered and could only weep for the loss of her daughter.

"On the 29th will be the mass demonstration. We invite and urge everyone in Okahandja to be part of this demonstration. We want the culprits to be caught. On Monday evening, there will also be a prayer session. I'm also urging all the pastors from different churches to please join hands in order to make sure that we make our voices heard as people of Okahandja, and we hand over the petition to the police. We want those culprits to be caught," said Katungondo.

In an extra show of solidarity, the mayor vowed that her office would be actively engaged in attempting to catch the murderer and offered a N$50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.