ONDANGWA – A lecturer at the University of Namibia (Unam), Paulus Mulunga Jnr, faces the long arm of the law after he allegedly beat up his 68-year-old uncle, Simon Kanepolo Mulunga, immediately after a traditional court hearing over a shop inheritance co-owned by Simon Mulunga and his late brother, Paulus Mulunga Snr, who was the father of the accused Paulus Mulunga Jnr.
Mulunga Jnr a lecturer in the Electronic Engineering Department and his co-accused Namene Nekwaya appeared in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court on charges of assault and malicious damage to property.
The duo are accused of beating the living daylights out of Simon Mulunga a pensioner. Simon Mulunga was hospitalised in the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital.
Those who were present during the traditional court hearing on Friday that degenerated into a savage assault described the incident as a disgusting and dramatic scene, which some referred to as a scene out of a low-budget ‘African movie’.
The two are alleged to have successfully managed to delete information and pictures from the cellphones of people who took pictures while one phone was destroyed completely in the melee.
According to eyewitnesses, the wife of the late Paulus Mulunga Snr, Maria Nashongo-Mulunga lodged a case of inheritance with the Ondonga Traditional Authority in February this year so that she could inherit her late husband’s property in a traditional way. The case was postponed to March 13 to allow the widow of the late Paulus Mulunga Snr to provide the traditional court with evidence of the alleged property that she claims belonged to her late husband.
According to sources, the widow failed to provide the court with the requested documents hence the traditional court postponed the matter to bring the evidence as required by the court.
“Nashongo refused to obey the court order and some of her followers decided to block the victim’s car for him not to leave the premises,” said an eyewitness. Eyewitnesses further alluded that the accused as well as an organised mob started smashing Simon Mulunga’s car with stones, and insulted and threatened to kill the old man.
“The victim locked himself in the car for almost two hours while the traditional leaders locked themselves in the office, because it was a hot fight,” said another witness who described the incident as an embarrassment to all concerned.
According to Suama Mulunga the sister to the victim and the late Paulus Mulunga Snr, the incident is an embarrassment to the family because it’s now 18 years since Mulunga passed away. “Why only now, it is now 18 years after my brother passed on but these people are only fighting for his properties now? This is unbelievable and very provocative,” she said.
Both Mulunga Jnr and Nekwaya were refused bail and the matter was postponed to Friday for a formal bail application.