Junias Kiingali, the truck driver involved in the horrific accident, appeared in the Tsumeb Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Tsumeb
The truck driver who was involved in a head-on collision with a minibus late Friday afternoon in which 15 people died appeared in the Tsumeb Magistrate’s Court yesterday and was released on a warning, pending further investigations and a legal aid application.
Both vehicles caught fire, killing 15 people in the minibus on the spot, including the driver. Only one female passenger in the minibus is said to have survived the dreadful accident.
The crash ocurred near Casablanca settlement, about 13km from Omuthiya on the Ondangwa-Oshivelo main road. The truck driver was identified as Junias Kiingali, 32, from Onaanda village. He is an employee of Inter-city Transport based in Windhoek.
Kiingali is charged with 15 counts of culpable homicide and his case was remanded to June 1 to allow time for further investigations and to enable him to make a formal legal aid application.
Magistrate Isabella Mutimba presided while prosecutor Raonga Uanivi represented the State.
Kiingali, who was driving from Omuthiya to Oshivelo, lost control of the truck after one of the tyres burst and swerved into the lane of the oncoming minibus. It is suspected that both drivers tried to avoid the collision, but in vain. The truck driver was also tested for alcohol and the test results were reportedly negative.
Meanwhile, New Era was informed that the woman referred to as Toini Wilhelm who was alluded to in yesterday’s edition as the only survivor, was among those that died in the accident. It is alleged that the survivor who was admitted to the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital was found in possession of Wilhelm’s handbag and phones. As of yesterday the survivor’s name was still unknown. Another person the police wrongly claimed had died is Hipondoka Thalitha Mwena, 45, a nurse at Omuthiya who phoned New Era saying she was still alive.
Police also said they will only release the correct names of the victims once they completed the DNA investigation that is currently underway. They have appealed to the families of those presumed dead, particularly brothers or sisters, to visit the Windhoek mortuary “for DNA purposes”. “We are equally urging families to be patient while the forensic personnel are attending to the matter,” stated Chief Inspector Kaunapawa Shikwambi. The police also appealed to people to refrain from circulating the names of those presumed dead on social media because their remains still have to undergo DNA testing.
According to the police, the circulating list of names of the deceased cannot be confirmed as they are still awaiting DNA test results to confirm the identities.
Meanwhile the police have urged the public to assist in identifying the victims.