A girl whose abuse by her guardian went viral evoked anger from the public, but also compassion from one of the country’s most prominent legal personalities.

Lawyer Sisa Namandje has come to the rescue of the abused Windhoek teenager, committing to cater for her essential needs for the next five years. 

This follows the New Era report of an 11-year-old girl (previously reported to be 12) who has been physically abused and neglected by her mother’s friend since October 2021. 

The girl, whose name is known but cannot be revealed because she is a minor who suffered abuse, yesterday watched in awe from her hospital bed as Namandje asked her mother for permission to financially support her.  

The lawyer promptly responded to the article by diverting funds which were meant for various social projects to assist the mother with groceries and clothing in the amount of N$4 000 yesterday. He also committed himself to assist the victim by paying tuition, accommodation and upkeep for the child for the next five years. 

This commitment could amount to thousands of dollars.

Namandje said the gravity and scale of abuse and neglect this child was subjected to immediately triggered a decision on his foundation’s part to step in and assist.

“Our foundation exactly stands for assisting those who are in difficult circumstances, such as the abused and neglected child you reported on. We rely on information from newspapers and other sources in identifying our beneficiaries,” he added.

Namandje described the situation as immoral, encouraging the public to expose such incidents.

“About other incidents of abuse, we point out that our constitution prohibits the violation of anyone’s dignity. Communities in which this kind of child abuse and neglect occur should expose them,” he advised.

Speaking from her bed in the Katutura hospital where she got admitted and is now recovering, the victim told New Era that since October 2021, she was not allowed to play and was often beaten with a sjambok for failing to arrange the Otombo jars on the table.

“My auntie beat me almost every day if I did not arrange the table, or sometimes if I did not feed her small baby,” she narrated.

On Sunday, the suspect, Maria Johannes, allegedly called the victim to go and feed her child while there was some noise coming from the jukebox blaring at the nearby bar. 

The victim allegedly did not hear being called, and the suspect then grabbed a bottle of beer and smashed it on the victim’s face before she took a knife to cut her hand.

Bystanders made a video of her violation that went viral on social media platforms on Sunday.

Johannes was arrested, and has to stay in custody until 27 February while charges of assault, malicious damage to property and contravention of the Child Care and Protection Act are being investigated.

She appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, and was denied bail.

Grateful

The child’s mother, Ottilie Nekandu, told Namandje that she is grateful and appreciated the good gesture. 

“I am very grateful. I am speechless. Thank you very much for helping us. May the Lord bless you,” she told the lawyer. 

A neighbour of Nekandu, Sion Kalumbu, who is now accommodating the elder brother of the victim, also thanked the foundation, adding that his heart always bleeds when the children go without food.

“I want to register my excitement to you guys before you leave. The situation is bad at home. Those children go for days without food. That is why I decided to keep the elder brother because he is smart and doing well in school. I feed him and accommodate him here in my house,” he explained.

The elder brother, Tilinge Nande-Udeni, said he has noticed that his sister was going through abuse because she always escaped from her guardian’s house. 

“She went missing three times from that home. One day, she went missing and slept in the street, and came to our house in the morning. We spent the whole day playing here together, but when the time of going home came, she was so sad. I asked her, but she did not want to tell me anything,” he narrated.

He added that when he went to visit his sister at the end of last year, she was in a bad condition that made him uncomfortable. 

“I visited her last year in October, but I was not happy with her condition. Only later did I hear that she was being abused, and she used to drink alcohol. People started telling us that they used to see our sister drunk in the street,” he continued.

Kalumbu is now calling upon any other Good Samaritan to assist Nande-Udeni with school shoes as the pair he bought for him is worn out. 

“You can see his shoes are in a bad condition. I am now here stressed, thinking about how to get money to buy him shoes. The boy is gifted in school, and I at least want him to complete it. He needs motivation,” he pleaded.