Staff Reporter
“It’s too late, I took your son’s life.”
The above are the words sent via text message by convicted murderer Riddick Melchior /Narib (32), who killed his five-year-old stepson, Dantali Wilfried Eiseb.
The child was murdered on 6 January 2023 and subsequently buried in a shallow grave in the dunes of Narraville, Walvis Bay.
The trial of /Narib was heard before High Court Judge Lady Justice Naomi Shivute. He pleaded guilty to one count of murder read with the provisions of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, Act 4 of 2003, and one count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, or an attempt thereto. Judge Shivute consequently found him guilty on both counts.
Five-year-old Eiseb met the accused on 6 January 2023 at a tuck shop in the Tutaleni neighbourhood of Walvis Bay and allegedly followed him to the Narraville area. Upon reaching the dunes, /Narib assaulted the child by repeatedly hitting him on the head with a brick, resulting in fatal injuries.
The accused initially stated that his actions were triggered by anger, alleging that the deceased’s mother, Memory Eises, was cheating on him. He later withdrew this claim after it was contested by the State, which indicated that the couple had already separated at the time.
The State called Memory Eises, the deceased boy’s mother, to testify.
“On 6 January 2023, I had left Dantali at my sister, Nadia’s, place and went to visit the sister of the accused. I was in town getting things ready for school. Dantali was going to start pre-primary, and I had an arrangement with the accused’s sister that we would look for school items for him. However, while I was in town, I received a phone call from my sister Nadia saying that the accused had taken the child. That is when I ran to the Kuisebmond Police Station. We had separated, and he was not supposed to be with the child. When I arrived at the police station, I received an SMS from the accused. The first message said ‘call’, but I did not have airtime. I replied, saying, ‘Wait, I will call back.’ He then responded and said, ‘It’s too late, I took your son’s life,’” Eises testified.
Eises added that police initiated a manhunt but were unable to trace the accused and returned to the station to take statements.
“During that time, a radio call came in indicating that a child had been found close to the ‘Welcome to Walvis Bay’ signboard and that the child was believed to be between four and five years old. I screamed and said, ‘That’s my child,’” she said.
She further stated that on the day the accused was arrested, /Narib looked her straight in the eyes and said, “That is the way I wanted you to feel.”
She added that after the confrontation she lost consciousness and later woke up in hospital.
Eises testified that when she went to identify the body, she could not recognise her son.
“I could not recognise my son, as that was not the face of my boy. I could only recognise him by his birthmark and the Christmas clothes I had bought for him. He loved those clothes so much, and it was the last thing he wore, along with a pair of new sandals my sister had bought for him,” she said.
During her testimony, an emotional Eises held up a printed photograph of her late son and herself in court and broke down in tears.
“This was my son. He was a hyperactive boy who brought so much joy into the house. He did not deserve to die in such a manner,” Eises said.
