Katima Mulilo Urban constituency councillor John Mukaya has died after he was involved in a road accident on Wednesday evening at around 19h15. This happened when his VW Polo collided head-on with an oncoming seven-seater Toyota Noa in the Mpyu area, along the Katima Mulilo-Ngoma road.
Mukaya died upon arrival at the Katima Mulilo state hospital.
According to a police report, the 49-year-old Mukaya, who was alone, was trying to overtake a vehicle in front of him when he lost control and hit the oncoming vehicle.
This also resulted in the instant death of 30-year-old Gift Sibungo Sisamu, a passenger in the other vehicle.
Eleven occupants, including five minors, sustained minor to serious injuries, and were all admitted at the Katima Mulilo state hospital. At least three of them were admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). The minors include a seven-year-old girl, a six-year-old boy, a one-year-old girl and two babies whose ages have not yet been established.
The police report also stated that a case of culpable homicide, CR186/05/2021, was opened.
Mukaya, who was a Swapo councillor, was one of the Zambezi region’s representatives in the National Council.
Zambezi Regional Council chairperson Matengu Simushi witnessed the accident, and described Mukaya’s death as a great loss to the region and the country at large.
“We have lost a trusted cadre,
a person who was working very hard in the region. Even at the National Council, you could see how he was contributing when he was fighting for Brendan Simbwaye and Greenwell Matongo. He wanted Matongo’s remains to be brought back home, and for Simbwaye’s grave to be identified so that they are honoured in the region.
“Even during council meetings, the late Mukaya was contributing a lot. For the past five months that I have worked with him, he was a dedicated person. So, the entire region has lost as well as Namibia in general,” reiterated Simushi.
National Democratic Party (NDP) president Martin Lukato also expressed condolences in a statement. He said the late Mukaya had “in a short time proved to the entire region and country at large that he was fearless and honest.”
Lukato added that the “Zambezi region lost a true leader who fought for his own people, not his stomach or party.”