BH blames public for drowning

TUYEIMO HAIDULAOSHAKATIThe owner of Bennie’s Entertainment Park, Benjamin ‘BH’ Hauwanga, says people should stop getting into the pool with dirty clothes, as this creates the murky water that led to a child drowning without anyone noticing.Hauwanga was reacting to the drowning of a nine-year-old boy, Mandume Armdforce, at the entertainment park while swimming unsupervised.“The child had a disability. He should not have been in the pool in the first place. It is very important for parents and guardians to inform employees on duty that they are with a child who needs special care, just so they can have more eyes on the child and to avoid such incidents,” Hauwanga said.Strange caseHe stressed that it is a very strange case and that he had asked the police to investigate and get to the bottom of what he termed a “bizarre” incident.“We are worried. That death could have been very well prevented. There is more to the story than meets the eye and I am sure the police will get to the bottom of it. The truth will come out. The child was disabled and even on the physical body one can tell. He had no business swimming alone,” Hauwanga stressed.Armdforce remained under the water while other people continued swimming. This means the boy had been in the pool for some time before staff noticed that he had drowned.Lack of supervisionOshana police commissioner Rauha Amwele said the boy’s nanny claimed that the children were swimming in the baby pool while she was baby-sitting a nine-month-old baby.The nanny said she did not notice Mandume leaving the baby pool.“She (the nanny) was later informed that Hendrick, who is responsible for cleaning the pool, had removed a body and she went to confirm whether it was Mandume,” Amwele said.Hauwanga dismissed claims that poor pool maintenance had caused the murky water that delayed the discovery of the boy’s body.“People should stop getting into the water with their dirty jeans. Some do not even use the showers designated for them to clean off dirt before getting into the pool. Their behaviour leads to the water getting dirty within two hours if there are more than 20 people swimming in there,” he said. Hauwanga said there are often so many people in the pool that it is not easy to spot a swimmer in trouble.“Our lifeguards save people, young and old, from drowning in the adult swimming pool on a daily basis. People should also indicate if they come to the pool with an epileptic person to avoid drowning incidents,” he said.Hauwanga said no one would be allowed in the pool unless they are wearing proper swimsuits.He also confirmed that a 35-year-old man had died in the pool last month.– tuyeimo@namibiansun.com.na

BH blames public for drowning

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-05

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BH blames public for drowning

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-05

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