Mom arrested after ‘neglected’ child drowned

In probably one of the first criminal cases of a parent leaving children unattended, a mother from the Omusati Region appeared in court yesterday after she left her minor children at home in 2021 and one of them drowned in a bucket of water.After two years of what was initially a police inquest into the incident, Magano Kambonde (43) from Uuhongo village in the Onesi area has been arrested and appeared in the Outapi Magistrate’s Court yesterday after her 11-month-old baby died in a 25-litre container of soaked mahangu as a result of alleged neglect.A police report on the incident indicated that Kambonde left her three minor children at home alone and without supervision on 10 November 2021, resulting in the death of the youngest one. The other two children were aged seven and nine.According to a police source, Kambonde left the children unattended to go to a shebeen.In court yesterday, she faced a count of neglect as per the Child Care and Protection Act.She appeared before magistrate Hafeni Kashikuka, who remanded the matter to 16 January 2024 for further police investigations and for the accused to acquire legal aid. She was granted bail of N$1 500. Igna Manyando was the state prosecutor.Taking actionThe arrest came months after Omusati governor Erginus Endjala, during his state of the region address, called for careless parents to be arrested. There is no suggestion that Kambonde was arrested on the governor’s instruction.At the time, the governor said: “Often, toddlers who drowned were left unattended, while their guardians/parents were out at shebeens,” he said.According to him, the police have already started to take strong action against such parents/guardians by filing criminal charges against them.Police in Omusati have recorded 16 cases of infants who inexplicably died of suffocation after their ‘drunk’ mothers allegedly lied on top of them while asleep.These cases were recorded during the 2022/23 financial year.This, while 13 cases were recorded of minors who died after drowning in buckets of water or oshikundu, in ponds or in canals due to a lack of parental care.Woman assaultedMeanwhile in a separate incident, Omusati police arrested a 22-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a 35-year-old woman.The incident took place on Tuesday at Ekongo Shebeen, situated in Uuhongo village’s Onadhidhi location.According to a police report, the incident happened at around 21:30 when the suspect allegedly beat the complainant’s face with his fists several times and continued to beat her with empty bottles on her head.The complainant sustained serious injuries, which led to the arrest of the suspect, who has been charged with assault with the intent to do grievously bodily harm.kenya@namibiansun.com

Mom arrested after ‘neglected’ child drowned

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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Mom arrested after ‘neglected’ child drowned

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

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