WINDHOEK – The secretary of the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL), Dr Elijah Ngurare, says whoever pulled the trigger of a gun that killed Frieda Ndatipo on 27 August must be brought to book.
Ndatipo, 26, a district leader of the SPYL in Okongo, was gunned down during confrontations between young people born in exile who are demanding jobs from government, and the police.
Ngurare, together with a number of other SPYL national leaders, attended Ndatipo’s funeral in the north on Saturday.
Speaking to New Era telephonically yesterday, Ngurare stressed that needy Namibians should be identified so that they benefit from welfare services. Mere talk and chanting of slogans, he noted, is not enough as it does not put bread on the table.
He made these remarks when asked about lessons that can be drawn from the nature of Ndatipo’s death.
“We should never be trigger happy. It was the action of an individual and it should not be tolerated,” said Ngurare.
He stressed that Ndatipo as an individual meant no harm and being a woman “there is no way that she could have posed any threat”. Ngurare attended Ndatipo’s funeral at Ehafo village in the Okongo district of the Ohangwena Region on Saturday, along with other representatives of the SPYL.
“We must not play politics with the death of anyone. Ndatipo was a member of the Swapo Party Youth League and a leader of Okongo district. We went there because she is our member,” said Ngurare.
“The mood was very emotionally charged. People were angry and there were a lot of questions,” said Ngurare. It is sad that there was no government representative at the funeral, he noted.
“Nobody from government went to the family to offer condolences and to say that they are investigating the matter,” said Ngurare, who feels they could have been more sympathetic with the family and those affected.
“It was difficult being there even to greet the (late Ndatipo’s) children,” he said, adding that they live in abject poverty and government through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare should assess their situation and help them.
“It is easy for us to say the youth are this and that but 24 years after independence poverty and unemployment remain a challenge,” said Ngurare, who maintained that poverty and unemployment should be addressed.