Thomas Sheya (33), who allegedly killed two of his children by twisting their necks on Sunday night at Onkani village in the Omuntele constituency of the Oshikoto Region, was denied bail by Magistrate Nelao ya France during his first court appearance.

The suspect is facing two counts of murder and has opted for a government-funded lawyer.

The case was postponed to March 23, 2026, as postmortem results are pending and due to public interest and the early stages of investigations.

Details surrounding the murders remain unclear, but preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, the biological father, returned home on Friday from Windhoek with his two children. On Sunday afternoon, he took the children out, claiming to escort them to the gravel road for pickup.

His crimes came to light after he sent text messages to family members and the children’s mother, revealing that he had killed them and that their bodies were lying next to the Nameya water point.

The deceased children were identified as Ruusa Sheya (4) and Andreas Sheya (2).

After committing the gruesome act, Sheya allegedly fled the scene but handed himself over to police at Okatope on Monday morning and was arrested.

Police investigations into the murders are ongoing.