‘Papa, don’t cry’

In new witness statements filed in the High Court last Friday, the father of a nine-year-old girl - who died in Mariental last year after being chased around and run over by a bakkie - has chronicled how his daughter urged him not to cry just moments before she died.

Elia Mupolo is suing smallholding farmer Johan Meyer for N$5 million for killing Hendrina Mupolo, who together with her mother and other relatives were found picking ‘leftover’ beans on Meyer’s farm along the banks of the Fish River.

Hendrina’s mother, Anna-Marie !Aochamus, was also suing the farmer, but recently withdrew her claim. Mupolo, however, is pressing ahead and, through his lawyer Norman Tjombe, last week filed his witness statement.

Meyer is required to file his statement on the matter this Friday before the court allocates trial dates.

Running for her life

On 1 May 2022, Hendrina accompanied her mother, her mother’s sister and two other children to the smallholding to harvest leftover beans.

“The previous day, several members of the public harvested leftover beans, and Hendrina’s mother [!Aochamus] only learnt about it that evening. She and Hendrina then went on the morning of 1 May 2022 to see if they could also harvest some of the beans,” Mupolo’s filing read.

Another witness, Maria Shiyukifeni - who was also at the farm to collect beans - said she went there because talk in town was that Meyer had asked people to come harvest the leftover beans, a version she relayed to a security guard who had told her to leave the farm.

“He then left. Soon thereafter, a Toyota Land Cruiser approached the area, driving slowly. It stopped at another group of people on the far side from where I was. It did not take long before I saw the car chasing a young boy through the field.”

The unidentified boy managed to escape, according to Shiyukifeni’s witness statement.

“The vehicle then made a U-turn and drover very fast towards a young girl. The girl was running towards a woman. I later learnt it was the mother of the young girl.”

“[!Aochamus] was shouting frantically for the girl to run faster towards her as the car was fast approaching. The girl was also screaming and crying as she was running. The car was, however, very fast, and it hit the girl before she could reach the mother,” she stated.

‘Get the f**k out’

Mupolo said he was informed about the incident via a phone call from !Aochamus.

“I found Hendrina laying on the ground, in severe pain. [!Aochamus] was hysterical and crying. I also found an old man, known to me as Sambaba, at the scene. He was in a heated argument with [Meyer who] was swearing at Sambaba, telling him in Afrikaans: “F*k uit my tuin! Vat die f*kken kind uit my plek! Dit is nie jou f*kken plek nie!” [Get the f**k out of my garden! Take the f***ing child off my land! It’s not your f***ing place!]

The father recalled: “At the time when I arrived at the scene, I found my daughter laying on the ground, full of dust and other debris. She was clearly in pain and crying. At times, she would lose consciousness. When she came to and saw me crying, she said to me: ‘Papa, don’t cry. I am going to aunty’.

"I took it as a reference to her aunt who passed away previously. This was even more traumatising, and made me cry more,” Mupolo said.

Later on, police and the ambulance arrived at the scene, court papers read.

Mupolo added: “The paramedics attended to the child, and transported her to the hospital. At the Mariental hospital, I was informed that they will transport her to Windhoek. After a while, and while waiting for arrangements to be made, [Hendrina] passed away in my and her mother’s presence.”

He charged that N$5 million is a reasonable payment for his emotional pain and suffering, discomfort, trauma and the psychological damage he endured due to the tragedy.