Police in Namibia have arrested a Zimbabwean couple for allegedly killing 10-year-old girl before setting her body on fire.

The couple, along with the now deceased’s mother who is a Namibian national, allegedly committed the murder last Friday at around 9 PM.

In a statement, Namibian Police (Nampol) spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi said the suspects were arrested on Sunday around Otjiwarongo town as they tried to skip the border.

She said indications were that Edward Nkata and his wife (whose name is yet to be released) along with three minors were on their way to Zimbabwe. The senior police officer said they had since opened a case of murder and obstructing or defeating the course of justice.

“Edward Nkata has been identified as the main suspect in the murder of the 10-year-old girl, whose badly burnt body was discovered in a municipal skip in Windhoek North early on Saturday morning by detectives from the Serious Crime Investigation Division.

“The minor’s mother was arrested on Saturday in connection with the murder and mutilation of the child’s body,” said Deputy Commissioner Shikwambi.

The official said indications were Nkata killed the girl before setting her body on fire in the skip along Ooievaar Street at around 2100hrs on Friday evening.

She said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were seen dragging a wheelie bin that possibly contained the victim’s body to the steel skip where they burnt the body. The official said detectives followed up on that information which led  them to the girl’s mother.

“The woman was staying at the said house with the Zimbabwean couple and their children,” she said.