The Director of Health in the Otjozondjupa Region, Gebhardo Timotheus, has confirmed that a man reported missing from Tsumkwe after he was transferred to the Katutura Hospital in Windhoek died in 2019.

Timotheus said there is no record of what happened to his remains.

He said he verified the information through the mortuary register, which indicated the death but did not show any record of the body being released or collected.

The development follows a case in which a 68-year-old mother from Baracka, a village about 25 kilometres from Tsumkwe, reached out to NBC News at Tsumkwe concerned about her son, who was picked up by a state ambulance more than seven years ago.

N!ani Kxore said her son, Kaqece Kxao, then 40, fell ill, complaining of kidney pain. 

She said she was informed he would be treated at the Tsumkwe clinic and return home, but he was later referred to Grootfontein District Hospital and then to Windhoek.

The mother said she later searched for him without success and received conflicting reports about whether he was alive or dead.

On Wednesday, she visited the NBC office at Tsumkwe and said that health authorities have still not contacted them. This prompted the NBC to follow up with the regional director.

Gebhardo Timotheus did not indicate if the ministry will provide psychological assistance to the family or provide any other support.