Fight over well lands man in hospital

WINDHOEK SELMA IKELA

A young man is being treated at the Opuwo State Hospital after he was hacked with a panga in a fight over a well at Ongai village in the Okanguati area of the Kunene Region on Saturday.
Tjiunatjo Muhenje, 25, sustained cuts to his back and arm. The suspect, Tjimuhuatu Ngombe, age unknown, is on the run. A case of attempted murder has been opened against him.
"He [Ngombe] is well known. It's just a matter of time before he is arrested," said Police Deputy Commissioner James Nderura.
Nderura told Namibian Sun that Muhenje had dug a well in a riverbed and denied other people and their livestock access to it.
Nderura said an older farmer who had been away from the village for some time was informed by villagers that they were refused water from Muhenje's well.
The Deputy Commissioner said the old man took his cattle to the well and an argument between him and Muhenje escalated to a fight.
"Muhenje overpowered the man and Ngombe, who had accompanied the old man, attacked Muhenje from behind," said Nderura. After Muhenje had lost consciousness, the old man allegedly joined the assault on him.
Nderura said fights over wells are common in the area and this one had nothing to do with the current drought. He said one would often find a farmer at a State borehole denying water to villagers and other farmers because he had bought the diesel to pump water.