Six years on, families of Namibians killed in Zambia still seek closure

More than six years after seven Namibians were brutally killed by unknown assailants in Zambia, their grieving families say they are being met with a wall of silence and weak excuses from the Namibian police.

The tragedy occurred on 5 December 2019.

Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo has, however, pushed back, dismissing the families’ public outcry as an unnecessary media spectacle.

According to a letter seen by Namibian Sun, dated 19 January 2026, signed by family representative Lucas Makili, the Namibian government initially denied requests for assistance in repatriating the victims’ remains.

The families say they funded their own trip to Zambia, where they found the bodies of their loved ones. They claim the remains showed clear signs of extreme violence, including broken limbs and missing organs.

In pursuit of closure, they followed a directive from Namibian police to exhume the bodies for a joint post-mortem conducted by both Zambian and Namibian doctors.

Years later, the families say that closure remains elusive.

Missing documents, family claim 

At the heart of the dispute is the delivery of the autopsy findings.

Makili alleges that, despite repeated attempts to contact Shikongo, no official documentation has been provided.

"The delivery of the post-mortem has been delayed. We attempted to contact General Shikongo regarding the findings; however, no solid or official documentation has been provided," the letter reads.

"Instead, a handwritten document was read to the family members present at the time, and no physical copy of the results was shared with them," it adds.

The families are now appealing to good Samaritans to help them secure valid, official post-mortem results.

Shikongo fires back

Responding to the allegations, Inspector-General Shikongo expressed bewilderment at the families’ decision to involve the media during an interview with Namibian Sun yesterday.

Speaking with evident frustration with the claims by the family, Shikongo said: "I don’t know what you are talking about when you say that we don’t want to assist them," Shikongo said.

"They want autopsy results? They must then come to me. Why do they want to do it through the media?"

The police chief confirmed that he met with a group in the north between December and early January.

He maintained that he used his own time and resources to facilitate the meetings and explained the situation to those present.

Shikongo challenged the families to approach him directly with their concerns rather than through a third party.

"If they are not satisfied, let them contact me. I’m available," Shikongo stressed.

However, he clarified a key procedural point regarding the documents the family say have not been provided.

“I don’t deal with autopsies. There is somebody, the forensics, they deal with that. Let them come to me and tell me exactly which area they are not satisfied with so that I can direct my people,” he said.

For the families of the ‘Zambia Seven,’ the issue is not just a meeting, but the paper trail.

Without a formal, typed and stamped post-mortem report, they feel they are being denied the legal truth of how their relatives died.

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