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‘The conference had to go on’


SOME delegates who attended a southern African regional education conference in Windhoek, where a participant took his own life, say they found it hard to continue with the programme following the tragedy.

Thabo Chawapa (54), an administrator from Botswana Open University, was due to do a presentation on Friday.

His colleagues, however, became worried when he did not show up at the conference room as scheduled.

Chawapa took his life on the last day of the conference, which ran from Wednesday to Friday at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust).

He was in Namibia as part of a delegation from Botswana to attend the 59th Long-Distance Education Conference, hosted by the Distance Education Association of Southern Africa.

According to Khomas police spokesperson Silas Shipandeni, Chawapa died at the balcony of his hotel room at the hotel school.

The Botswana high commission has been informed of his death.

One of the Namibian delegates this week recalled the incident.

“They went looking for him in his room at the hotel school, but it was locked. They thought that perhaps he was taking a shower,” the delegate, who declined to be named, said.

She said Chawapa’s body was later discovered by a cleaner on the balcony.

“People were traumatised. We were in tears when we heard what happened. It was hard to continue with the programme, but we had to continue after an hour of what happened. We could not stop,” she said.

She added that even while the conference continued, “nobody looked fine”.

‘HE LOOKED TROUBLED’

She said Chawapa looked troubled from day one.

“He was isolated from everyone else most of the time, and looked very distressed throughout the conference. You could see he had problems. He looked troubled,” she said.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner at the Botswana high commission in Namibia, Moditsaotsile Mabutho, said Chawapa’s family has been informed of his death.

He said Chawapa’s body is still in Namibia as his family is still finalising arrangements to return his remains to Botswana.

Namibian College of Open Learning director Heroldt Murangi, who was one of the organisers of the conference, says while he is aware of the incident, he is in no position to comment.

“The matter is now with the police, and it is a private matter for the family in Botswana,” Murangi said.





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