The family of a 36-year-old man who disappeared on 1 September in Karibib is growing increasingly worried over the lack of information regarding his whereabouts.

Nangolo Shishiveni, a senior family
member said his nephew Immanuel Shikongo was last seen at the Namdeb settlement, and has not been heard from since.

“We are very concerned that so far no one has been brought in for questioning regarding the missing person,” he said. 

“Even those who were last with him, they are not interrogated by the police,” he claimed. 

Shikongo was reportedly involved in stone mining and had left the site to sell his goods, never to return or be seen again. 

Erongo regional police commander, Commissioner Nikolas Kupembona, assured the family that all possible efforts have been made to locate the missing man. These efforts include visiting the scene, interviewing acquaintances and using sniffer dogs.

“We visited the place of the missing person overnight to interview the persons who were in contact with him before he went missing,” Kupembona said.  “We also took the sniffing dogs to the site for tracking his footprint,” he justified. However, the family remains skeptical. They allege that the police have been slow to act, and have not conducted thorough investigations.  Commissioner Kupembona clarified that interviews are not the same as interrogations. Interviews are conducted to gather information, while interrogations are reserved for suspects. “In interviews, you gather information that will help you do the right investigations while with interrogations, you are getting information from the persons of interest in the case. In this matter, there are suspicions that he was murdered,” he noted. 

The police are urging the public to come forward with any information that could lead to Shikongo’s whereabouts. -ljason@nepc.com.na