‘We last ate decently at the funeral’

A Kavango East family, which tragically lost 16 people in May to suspected food poisoning, says they still have no food to eat.

The last decent meal they had was during the burial of their beloved ones, they said.

Namibian Sun visited the family over the weekend, two months after they buried 16 relatives.

Apart from the lack of food, the surviving family members also pleaded for counselling as they are struggling to cope with the trauma stemming from the events that occurred.

During the interview, some family members were in tears while they described the suffering they endure.

Food scarce

The family spoke about the limited ingredients they have available to use as relish.

They explained that they forage for nonsivi and nongongo, which grow on trees.

Nonsivi is cooked as is, while nongongo is pounded and can be used as an alternative to cooking oil or as relish.

Speaking on behalf of the family was 63-year-old Gottfried Shishugho, who appealed for support for the family of 19, as they are currently struggling to make ends meet.

"We last ate decent food such as macaroni, rice, meat, fish and vegetables during the burial and a few days thereafter. "After that, we have gone back to how we survived before we lost 16 family members," Shishugho said.

"We are suffering – we don’t have food to eat, and as you can see, we are forced to go into the bushes to look for relish."

Shishugho said his monthly pension grant is not enough to sustain the family.

Support fades away

He expressed deep disappointment towards government and politicians, who provided food parcels and support during their difficult time but who, he said, have now disappeared.

Among the prominent politicians who met with the family or attended the mass burial were Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, defence minister Frans Kapofi, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani, PDM lawmaker Nico Smit, works minister John Mutorwa, and deputy minister of trade Verna Sinimbo.

"Are we only supposed to eat decent food during difficult times? They [politicians] were saying that what happened was a result of hunger, and today we are still hungry," he said.

"What was the purpose of showing that they cared if they actually did not? If government could feed thousands of people like they did at the burial, why can’t they do anything for us?"

‘We want to work’

The family does not own livestock, and with the poor rainfall experienced this year, they were unable to harvest mahangu.

They hope to benefit from the drought relief programme, which they registered for in June.

Some of the family members called on good Samaritans to employ them or assist them through other means.

"We don’t want to survive on handouts; we also want to work. If we can get jobs as cleaners or to work in a shop. We are not asking for well-paying jobs; all we want is to make an income and feed our family members and children," Mushongo and Veronica Shishugho said.

The family also asked for assistance with resources to build proper houses and toilets.

Currently, they relieve themselves in nearby bushes.

It was also revealed that some of the family members lack national documents.

Persistent trauma

In terms of the emotional impact, the family said some of the elders have not yet come to terms with the tragic deaths.

"We do cry sometimes as we still cannot believe what happened," members of the family said.

The deaths were, at the time, linked to mahangu grains the family received after collecting and trading reeds.

It was not yet the season for harvesting reeds, but the family was forced to do so in exchange for food.

The mahangu was obtained from a relative identified as Fabianus Mukoya, who lives just some 500 metres away.

However, Namibian Sun recently reported that forensic tests conducted to determine the cause of death for the 16 family members came back "inconclusive".

[email protected]