WINDHOEK - A 46-year-old woman died on Sunday afternoon in the mountains surrounding Kilimanjaro informal settlement while she was cutting grass that she sold to farmers along the B1 road.
The deceased, Veronica Shiwovanhu Haimbodi, rolled from the mountain and got struck by a big rock, witnesses say.
Cutting grass and selling it was the source of living for Haimbodi, a mother of five.
The incident happened in full view of Haimbodi’s sister and the pair’s two children. Haimbodi’s sister, Loide, said her sister would sometimes return home without selling anything, while on a good day she would pocket up to N$300.
The deceased’s cousin Vilho Eino told New Era that the two sisters and their children left home on Sunday afternoon to go cut grass in the mountains as they usually did.
Eino said Haimbodi was a bit further away from her cutting grass alone and called her sister to join her where she was, as there was plenty of grass. As her sister was on her way up, she heard a scream but she could not see Haimbodi.
“She started asking where Veronica was. She moved to the mountaintop and saw that Veronica had rolled down and was struck by a big rock,” narrated Eino.
Her sister sought help from nearby farms from where two men came to their assistance but Haimbodi was already dead.
The medical certificate for causes of death states (a) immediate cause of death haemopercardium, (b) cardiac rupture as current complication following acute myocardial infarction; while (c) states congenital anomaly of a ventricle of the ventricular septum, unspecified.
According to the family, Haimbodi was expected to return to the hospital today for her son’s follow-up who was diagnosed with a stroke last month. The Grade 7 pupil has since been out of school waiting to hear from the doctor on the way forward. According to the family, Haimbodi’s eldest child suffers from a mental problem.
“We feel bad about her passing. She was helping her children. No one will assist them now that she is gone,” said a relative Medinalyahe Shifidi.