Aletta Shikololo
Loide Jason
The families of the three Namibians who died as a result of the motor vehicle collision involving Inspector General Joseph Shikongo have laid a lawsuit against Shikongo.
Local lawyer Kadhila Amoomo has confirmed that the families had legal consultations with his firm and the matter will be handed to court soon.
The fatal accident marred with controversy happened in December when Shikongo who was driving his private vehicle reportedly crashed with a sedan, resulting in the death of Sofia Natangwe Ananias (22), Frans Pombili Ndengu (27) and Stefanus Hafeni Lukas.
“We have not yet finalised the papers. Once we are done, they will be made public by the Registrar of the High Court,” said Amoomo.
Calls for Shikongo to be criminally charged have grown louder after the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters’ (NEFF) Michael Amushelelo called for Shikongo to resign and be arrested.
Shikongo subsequently filed a lawsuit against him (Amushelelo) demanding compensation of N$1 million for alleged defamatory statements.
He is represented by Nambili Mhata.
No one above the law
Amushelelo also claimed Shikongo played judge and jury in his investigation as he was “procedurally” consulted before a team could be set up to investigate an accident in which he was involved that claimed three lives.
This is believed to throw the legitimacy of the investigation involving the most senior cop into disarray, with several sources confirming that senior defence and police top brass enjoy a certain degree of immunity.
Police deputy inspector general responsible for operations, Elias Mutota, confirmed that consultations were made although he didn’t mention who exactly was consulted.
“There was no fear of investigations, only that in such cases, the inspector general has the power to combine a team to investigate. However, in this case, he is the suspect of the matter, hence consultations had to be done first before a team was put together,” said Mutota.
Security minister Albert Kawana said the investigation into the accident is almost done but said Shikongo has not interfered with the investigation.
In a telephonic interview with this publication, Kawana indicated that Mutota was indeed the one consulted and he was initially responsible for setting up an investigation team.
“From day one, the IG was in the hospital and after that, he was released from Ongwediva Medipark and readmitted at Lady Pohamba, so from the humanitarian side of the story, that accident was severe, so at all material times the person who was in charge was Mutota who appointed the teams and they reported to nobody else but him,” he explained.
A case of culpable homicide/reckless and/or negligent driving was immediately opened on the day of the incident.
The team delegated to investigate the matter comprised the head of forensics Nelius Becker, the crime investigations coordinator of the Oshana region, Teofelus Kamati and Erongo commander Nikolaus Kupembona who spearheaded the investigations.
According to Mutota, the investigations are almost complete and the docket will be presented to the prosecutor general for a decision, in mid-March or end of March.
“Most of the information was obtained and evidence was collected. We just have to do the final compilation of the docket before handing it to the PG for decision,” he added.
On Tuesday, the investigation team was seen at the accident scene on the Ondangwa-Oshikango main road in the Oshana region in what seemed like a reconstruction of the crime scene.
Oshana regional commander, Commissioner Sakaria Lungameni also confirmed this.
Allegations made by Amushelelo on his public platforms suggest that the police already failed by not arresting Shikongo for obstructing the course of justice when “he ordered the immediate removal of his vehicle from the accident scene.”
This has however been refuted by Kawana.
“That vehicle could not be under the custody of the police. You journalists would have been the first to complain. It was given under the protection of an insurance company which no police have access to. If that vehicle was taken to the police station, you people would have questioned that. So there was a reason for that,” he said.
He further explained that the removal of vehicles at accident scenes varies.
“That should not be an issue. An investigation is such a long-term process and so those vehicles can be removed for the road to be accessible to other road users,” he said.
He, however, refused to reveal any further information due to the fear of interfering in the ongoing investigations.
“At this stage, I can only state that nobody is above the law and, therefore, any actions that shall be taken shall be done following a due process. Furthermore, given that the matter is a subject of an ongoing internal consultation, I am not at liberty to comment further, especially in light of the attorney-client relationship,” said attorney general Festus Mbandeka.