Telecom manager in Katima Mulilo, Raymond Sezuni, 53, was arrested last Friday and spent the weekend in custody for the alleged assault of 69-year-old Chaze Nzehengwa.
Sezuni is accused of assaulting Nzehengwa at Mahonono village about 30 km east of Katima Mulilo last week Thursday, after an argument erupted over the usage of a shared water point that supplies water to Sezuni and Nzehengwa’s respective villages.
At the centre of the longstanding feud dating back to 2003 is priority over who should pump water first.
The water point installed by the Department of Rural Water Supply in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry to help rural communities access potable water is fitted with tanks supplying each village.
Pumping water is rotational as pressure from the water pump is unable to fill up tanks simultaneously.
Nzehengwa narrated to this reporter that she lives in constant fear as Sezuni allegedly started harassing her as far back as 2003, adding that the matter also involves land where Nzehengwa has built her village, which Sezuni claims he bought from indunas (traditional councillors) in the area despite Nzehengwa having settled on the land in 1996 before Sezuni came into the picture.
“He found me at this village when he moved here with his cattle. The water point he is fighting for was already here that time. He has continuously harassed me to a point where when he drew water from the water point, he dug in my field without even consulting me. On several occasions he has said he has already given money and cattle to indunas for my land,” said the clearly traumatized old woman.
However, last week’s incident was more life threatening, according to Nzehengwa, as she claims to have ended up fainting after allegedly being pushed around by Sezuni over the same issue of a water point. “I opened the water pump to fill up my tank but Sezuni’s workers closed my pipe to fill up their tank, and also did so the previous day. We argued over the issue and they ended up calling Sezuni. When he arrived he drove straight to my village and started threatening to beat me up. He then proceeded to push me and kicked me until I fainted,” narrated Nzehengwa who was rescued from her assailant by good Samaritans.
Nzehengwa lamented the conduct of the police whom she accused of failing to maintain order, despite her having reported the matter on several occasions. “He has threatened to shoot me and my son who is mentally disturbed and this has happened so many times. We have always gone to the police but they fail to do anything because he has money and friends in the police. In 2003 we ended up at the police again and he was only released on a warning. They don’t take me seriously because I have nothing,” lamented Nzehengwa who at times sobbed when she told of her ordeal at the hands of the apparently heartless Sezuni.
Nzehengwa’s one daughter, who appeared infuriated at what happened, noted that the police refused to impose a restraining order on Sezuni saying there was no blood relations between the two for such action.
“They refused to impose a restraining order saying there are no relations between the two. What we want is for his water to be disconnected from the water point because he is going to continue to do the same thing. He claims to be rich, why can’t he draw water from the pipeline?” asked the daughter rhetorically. Indunas in the area could not be reached to verify whether land where Nzehengwa resides has been sold to Sezuni. Sezuni was given N$1 000 bail Monday and his case was postponed to August 16.
But this decision infuriated Nzehengwa and her family who stood outside and publicly protested the decision much to the awe of onlookers when Sezuni was escorted outside court.
Roger Sibungo appeared for the State while Magistrate Karel Muyeghu presided.
Sezuni who is a part-time cattle farmer was also previously arraigned after he was implicated in a case of poaching buffalo.