‘They were human, not dogs’
Families suspect cover-up in Shikongo accident
The police inspector-general has expressed remorse, and says he is not out of the woods either.
The families of the people who died in a December accident involving Namibian Police inspector-general Joseph Shikongo said they are disappointed he has not been arrested, and that they have not received any condolences from him or his office.
But Shikongo denied not offering his sympathies during a lengthy telephonic interview with Namibian Sun yesterday.
Shikongo was involved in the accident which took place at Iindangungu village on the Ondangwa-Oshikango main road at about 01:00 on Friday, 30 December 2022, when his private vehicle - a white Toyota Hilux double cab - collided head-on with a white Hyundai hatchback.
All three occupants of the Hyundai died on the spot. The sole survivor of the crash, Shikongo was rushed to hospital for medical attention.
The deceased were identified as Frans Pombili Ndengu (27) from Omena village, Sofia Natangwe Ananias (22) from Onekwaya West village and Stefanus Hafeni Shahafifange Lukas (22) from Eendobe village.
The accident has been shrouded in secrecy as details remain sketchy - even for the deceased’s families. There have also been calls to criminally charge Shikongo, who yesterday said he is not immune to the law and will stand trial if he has to.
Disappointed
Ndengu’s mother Martha Kayoga sat with family members at Omena village in the Oshikoto Region yesterday and shared with Namibian Sun how the accident has affected them adversely.
Johannes Wilbard, Ndengu’s brother, was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the accident.
He said when they arrived, the car his brother was driving was already being loaded by the police and they were stopped from taking pictures of it. This, he said, angered and disappointed them.
Police accident reports seen by Namibian Sun do not indicate that any blood tests were done on Shikongo or Ndengu to determine whether either driver was over the alcohol limit.
“When he [Shikongo] he got out [of his car], he was standing while leaning on the car and [making] a cellphone call, informing one person that he was involved in an accident at Iindangungu, then he was requesting them to come over. We advised him to sit on the ground, which he complied to,” a police officer wrote in the accident report.
Another police officer said Shikongo informed them that he was avoiding cattle and ended up colliding with an oncoming car. The officer went on to say that Shikongo was loaded into an ambulance.
Car ‘under quarantine’
While the deceased’s car is currently being kept at the Ondangwa Police Station, the whereabouts of Shikongo’s Hilux remain a mystery – although the accident report indicates that it was towed away by a police tow-in vehicle.
“Unfortunately, that car is being kept under strict safe quarantine,” a police source told Namibian Sun on Tuesday.
“Our sources have confirmed that the car was brought under the cover of darkness to Windhoek.”
The deceased’s families have accused Shikongo of acting like he ran over dogs.
“These are human beings, our loved ones we cared about deeply,” Wilbard said.
Belongings not given back
Kayoga said they have also not received her son’s belongings. Not his wallet, driver’s licence or his bank cards.
She is also expressed disappointment that when his death certificate was issued, the cause of death was indicated as ‘unknown’, while the cause of Ananias’ death was not stated on her death certificate.
“And they have the audacity to write cause of death as ‘unknown’? What does that mean? It should be reading ‘car accident’ because we all know that is what caused it,” the family members fumed.
Breadwinner
Kayoga described her son as a loving person and who didn’t cause trouble at home but focused on his “hustles”.
She said he owned a driving school where he was the instructor, and that he had a restaurant and a bar.
“He hustled really hard; he was paying school fees for his three siblings,” she said.
Ndengu’s family said something else they were disappointed by is that they have not received any communication from the investigating officer. And to date, they do not know who caused the accident.
“Was Frans at fault or Shikongo? We just want to know. We honestly do understand it was an accident, but the report should be clear. We were informed Shikongo was trying to avoid bumping into cattle,” Wilbard and co said.
Ndengu and Ananias’ families said they have extended grace to Shikongo as they gave him a whole month to recover, hoping he would pay them a visit.
However, they read reports in the papers and heard on radio that he had returned to work, they said.
Namibian Sun could not trace Lukas’ family.
‘I regret the accident’
In an interview with Namibian Sun, Shikongo said he regrets the accident and has had several sleepless nights due to the young lives lost.
He denied that he has not made any efforts to contact the families and offer them his condolences, adding that he asked his regional commanders from Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto to represent him.
He further also asked his siblings to attend the funerals of the deceased and they gave him feedback, he said.
This was confirmed by the families, but they insisted that they would have appreciated to see Shikongo account for the tragedy himself.
‘Only God knows’
The inspector-general yesterday said he is still booked off and recovering, and he too is “not out of the woods yet”.
He asked the families to give him time to fully recover so he can visit and apologise personally.
“It was a painful experience. I know I need to meet the parents myself. I will still do it when I am able to.
"Who said I am going to make it? I also don’t know if I will survive. I have compressed bones and swollen arms as we speak. My heart is also swollen. Only God knows if I will live or not,” he said.
Not immune
Shikongo denied that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident as has been alleged, and challenged anyone who can prove otherwise to present the evidence to the investigating officers in Ondangwa.
He could, however, not confirm whether blood tests were done on him to determine his alcohol levels, saying he left the accident scene in an ambulance, so details remain sketchy.
“I did not prevent anyone from drawing my blood. That information can be obtained from the investigating officer,” he said.
According to Shikongo, the family and Namibians at large should allow the law to take its course and for the investigation to be completed.
He has been serving the Namibian nation for over 30 years and has not wished to harm any of them, he said.
“I will go to court like any Namibian. I am not above the law, neither immune. The law is for everyone. If I am prosecuted, I am ready to stand trial and - if found guilty - take the punishment.”
He added Namibians should join hands to navigate the way forward instead of driving agendas.
“Today, it is me, and tomorrow it is someone else. If they want me to die, it’s not for them to decide. It is in God’s hands,” he said.
Shikongo further said he does not know why the death certificates of the deceased are unclear, adding that he does not work at home affairs nor did he conduct the postmortems.
– [email protected]
But Shikongo denied not offering his sympathies during a lengthy telephonic interview with Namibian Sun yesterday.
Shikongo was involved in the accident which took place at Iindangungu village on the Ondangwa-Oshikango main road at about 01:00 on Friday, 30 December 2022, when his private vehicle - a white Toyota Hilux double cab - collided head-on with a white Hyundai hatchback.
All three occupants of the Hyundai died on the spot. The sole survivor of the crash, Shikongo was rushed to hospital for medical attention.
The deceased were identified as Frans Pombili Ndengu (27) from Omena village, Sofia Natangwe Ananias (22) from Onekwaya West village and Stefanus Hafeni Shahafifange Lukas (22) from Eendobe village.
The accident has been shrouded in secrecy as details remain sketchy - even for the deceased’s families. There have also been calls to criminally charge Shikongo, who yesterday said he is not immune to the law and will stand trial if he has to.
Disappointed
Ndengu’s mother Martha Kayoga sat with family members at Omena village in the Oshikoto Region yesterday and shared with Namibian Sun how the accident has affected them adversely.
Johannes Wilbard, Ndengu’s brother, was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the accident.
He said when they arrived, the car his brother was driving was already being loaded by the police and they were stopped from taking pictures of it. This, he said, angered and disappointed them.
Police accident reports seen by Namibian Sun do not indicate that any blood tests were done on Shikongo or Ndengu to determine whether either driver was over the alcohol limit.
“When he [Shikongo] he got out [of his car], he was standing while leaning on the car and [making] a cellphone call, informing one person that he was involved in an accident at Iindangungu, then he was requesting them to come over. We advised him to sit on the ground, which he complied to,” a police officer wrote in the accident report.
Another police officer said Shikongo informed them that he was avoiding cattle and ended up colliding with an oncoming car. The officer went on to say that Shikongo was loaded into an ambulance.
Car ‘under quarantine’
While the deceased’s car is currently being kept at the Ondangwa Police Station, the whereabouts of Shikongo’s Hilux remain a mystery – although the accident report indicates that it was towed away by a police tow-in vehicle.
“Unfortunately, that car is being kept under strict safe quarantine,” a police source told Namibian Sun on Tuesday.
“Our sources have confirmed that the car was brought under the cover of darkness to Windhoek.”
The deceased’s families have accused Shikongo of acting like he ran over dogs.
“These are human beings, our loved ones we cared about deeply,” Wilbard said.
Belongings not given back
Kayoga said they have also not received her son’s belongings. Not his wallet, driver’s licence or his bank cards.
She is also expressed disappointment that when his death certificate was issued, the cause of death was indicated as ‘unknown’, while the cause of Ananias’ death was not stated on her death certificate.
“And they have the audacity to write cause of death as ‘unknown’? What does that mean? It should be reading ‘car accident’ because we all know that is what caused it,” the family members fumed.
Breadwinner
Kayoga described her son as a loving person and who didn’t cause trouble at home but focused on his “hustles”.
She said he owned a driving school where he was the instructor, and that he had a restaurant and a bar.
“He hustled really hard; he was paying school fees for his three siblings,” she said.
Ndengu’s family said something else they were disappointed by is that they have not received any communication from the investigating officer. And to date, they do not know who caused the accident.
“Was Frans at fault or Shikongo? We just want to know. We honestly do understand it was an accident, but the report should be clear. We were informed Shikongo was trying to avoid bumping into cattle,” Wilbard and co said.
Ndengu and Ananias’ families said they have extended grace to Shikongo as they gave him a whole month to recover, hoping he would pay them a visit.
However, they read reports in the papers and heard on radio that he had returned to work, they said.
Namibian Sun could not trace Lukas’ family.
‘I regret the accident’
In an interview with Namibian Sun, Shikongo said he regrets the accident and has had several sleepless nights due to the young lives lost.
He denied that he has not made any efforts to contact the families and offer them his condolences, adding that he asked his regional commanders from Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto to represent him.
He further also asked his siblings to attend the funerals of the deceased and they gave him feedback, he said.
This was confirmed by the families, but they insisted that they would have appreciated to see Shikongo account for the tragedy himself.
‘Only God knows’
The inspector-general yesterday said he is still booked off and recovering, and he too is “not out of the woods yet”.
He asked the families to give him time to fully recover so he can visit and apologise personally.
“It was a painful experience. I know I need to meet the parents myself. I will still do it when I am able to.
"Who said I am going to make it? I also don’t know if I will survive. I have compressed bones and swollen arms as we speak. My heart is also swollen. Only God knows if I will live or not,” he said.
Not immune
Shikongo denied that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident as has been alleged, and challenged anyone who can prove otherwise to present the evidence to the investigating officers in Ondangwa.
He could, however, not confirm whether blood tests were done on him to determine his alcohol levels, saying he left the accident scene in an ambulance, so details remain sketchy.
“I did not prevent anyone from drawing my blood. That information can be obtained from the investigating officer,” he said.
According to Shikongo, the family and Namibians at large should allow the law to take its course and for the investigation to be completed.
He has been serving the Namibian nation for over 30 years and has not wished to harm any of them, he said.
“I will go to court like any Namibian. I am not above the law, neither immune. The law is for everyone. If I am prosecuted, I am ready to stand trial and - if found guilty - take the punishment.”
He added Namibians should join hands to navigate the way forward instead of driving agendas.
“Today, it is me, and tomorrow it is someone else. If they want me to die, it’s not for them to decide. It is in God’s hands,” he said.
Shikongo further said he does not know why the death certificates of the deceased are unclear, adding that he does not work at home affairs nor did he conduct the postmortems.
– [email protected]
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