John Muyamba
RUNDU – African elephants are magnificent beasts but with incredible power as could be attested by a reckless and negligent driver who together with his passengers escaped death by a hair’s breadth when he misinterpreted an initial elephant charge in Kavango West.
The driver last Friday bumped into an elephant that was crossing a road on a migratory route for these pachyderms. The route intersects the Rundu-Nkurenkuru road. In retaliation the elephant charged at the vehicle, lifted it up and smashed it into the ground like a matchbox, notwithstanding the fact the vehicle and passengers possibly weighed a tonne or more.
Sensing danger, narrated a source, “the occupants ran out of the car as soon as the car stopped moving and escaped from the enraged elephant attacking the vehicle.”
Looking at the extensive damage inflicted by the jumbo on the blue Ipsum Toyota imported from Botswana that itself – like Namibia – is home to one of the largest concentrations of wild African elephants, it resembles a car involved in a crash with a cargo train.
“The case was opened at Kahenge, Cr01/06/18, for reckless and negligent driving, on Friday 01 June 2018 at around 01h17 at Ngone village, Kavango West Region,” confirmed Deputy Commissioner William Peter on Monday.
“The driver of a blue Toyota station wagon seven-seater with the registration N1637RU was recklessly driving the vehicle on the B10 road from east to west from Nzinze village going to Nkurenkuru. When he reached Ngone village he bumped into an elephant as the elephants were crossing the B10 road, causing damage to the car and injuries to the occupants. No arrest was made thus far whilst investigations continue,” the deputy commissioner continued.
Kavango West Region has in the past few years seen a huge number of elephants invading village homesteads and millet fields, and damaging water boreholes, amongst other social infrastructure. Last year a similar incident occurred when a sedan hit an elephant and the elephant attacked and crushed the car.