State House breach exposes system failures
The dramatic breach of State House by 29-year-old Giano Seibeb has laid bare a troubling chain of failures, with his family revealing he had repeatedly escaped from a mental health facility while their pleas for help went largely ignored.
Seibeb, who appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court this week, indicated his intention to plead guilty to trespassing, housebreaking with intent to commit an offence, and contravening Section 7 of the Immoral Practices Act after he was found naked inside the presidential residence in Auasblick over the long weekend.
“We had been searching for him”
At the heart of the case is a family’s account of desperation and distress.
“To be honest, I’m very much heartbroken because the thing is, we have been searching for him since the 5th of April,” his cousin, Melani Seibes, told Network Media Hub (NMH) yesterday.
She described how Seibeb repeatedly fled from the mental health facility in Windhoek where he had been admitted. “He ran from the mental hospital, and then he came home, and from there they took him back again, and on the same day, he’s just running. We don’t even know how the person is escaping from the mental health hospital,” she said, adding, “It’s not three or four times that he was taken back, it’s a lot.”
According to Seibes, his condition had deteriorated in recent months, with severe insomnia and erratic behaviour. “He was just talking, talking the whole night, he could not even sleep,” she said.
Police response under scrutiny
The family says their attempts to report Seibeb missing were met with little urgency. “My auntie went to the police station to file a report for a missing person, but they did not do anything. They just told her to bring a picture of him, and even after she did that, nothing happened. They did not post on their platforms about a missing person,” Seibes said.
She added that the family ultimately took matters into their own hands. “I have also been searching a lot, but nothing, so then we decided, okay, let’s make our own poster.”
Seibeb’s mother, Katharina Seibes, filed a missing person’s report at the Otjomuise police station on 24 April and was allegedly told to “look for him yourself”. Although police confirmed the report was filed, this publication has established that it was never circulated.
A history of untreated illness
Seibeb’s mental health struggles date back several years, but his family says they were never given clear answers about his condition. “This story started there in Omitara when he was at the farm. When we took him to the hospital, they just gave him pills to relax his brain, that’s what they told us,” Seibes said.
She said his condition at times left him unable to speak. “Even his voice used to be gone; he could not even speak, he was trying to speak, but nothing was coming out.”
Despite receiving treatment intermittently, his condition worsened after relocating to Windhoek late last year, where he stayed with relatives and was later admitted to a mental health facility between March and April.
Court orders psychiatric evaluation
In court, state prosecutor Menencia Hinda requested a postponement to 22 June 2026 for a mental evaluation to determine whether Seibeb is fit to stand trial.
Prosecutor Reinhardt Kamatoto told the court that Seibeb’s medical passport indicates a history of schizophrenia.
The State further applied for him to be remanded in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
Security concerns raised
Seibeb had reportedly been admitted to the mental health ward at Windhoek Central Hospital but left the facility without formal discharge before the State House incident on 30 April.
The breach has raised broader concerns about security at both mental health institutions and high-security government premises.
Health ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya acknowledged ongoing challenges, saying: “When there is a security challenge, we raise it with the Ministry of Works, and we ask them to look into the story. There have been improvements on the facility lately, and we have spoken to the maintenance guys as well.”
System under pressure
For Seibeb’s family, the incident is not an isolated event but the result of systemic gaps in healthcare, policing, and institutional coordination.
“We don’t even know how the person is escaping. We also demand to see the footage of how he entered and everything that allegedly happened,” Seibes said.
