By Martha Matongo
A- 42-year old Namibian male, escaped death after he was taken for a hunting expedition at Chobe River in the eastern Caprivi near Botswana.
Mr Alpha Nkunga, a Resident of Ngala Village in Muyako Area some Eighty Five (85) Kilometres East of Katima Mulilo Town was trapped on a Crocodile scandal during the night of February 12, 2012 by a certain Zambian National known by the name of Oliver who has cultivated a farm of maize along the Chobe River.
Following widely spread rumours of two vicious deaths of residents at Muyako whose body parts were found at the banks of the Lake Lyambezi in 2011 and earlier this year suspected to have been killed by a Crocodile.
Oliver, a well-known fisherman who has his camp along the river side at Ngala Village approached Mr.Nkunga to hunt for a crocodile in the Chobe River which is said to have killed several fishermen who have been eke out their living on fishing.
Mr. Nkunga, after he heard a complaint from his fisher who is Oliver’s friend that if He cannot hunt down the Crocodile then He will relinquish his job, Mr. Nkunga thought in his mind that his worker was afraid of death.
According to him, having observed that his workers were reading their bibles every time when they come out from fishing, while sitting around fire more than he does as they told him that they wanted to become rich he thought they were close to God and he put more trust on them.
February 12, this year at around 8pm Mr. Nkunga and Oliver went out as promised to hunt for the Crocodile.
While paddling their Canoe (Mukolo) in the Chobe River with four people who are Oliver’s friends and two fishermen of Mr. Nkunga, they pushed close to Botswana as the three counterparts of him looked to have had an agreement before.
“ I told the guys that now we are at Botswana side, let’s go back if we can’t see it”, Said Mr Nkunga.
However, Oliver told him that they still have to see where he gets it every time as they paddled a head and that time he took him to a big tree where he pointed his paddle stick, “ This is where I got a person’s worst bones the previous time and I think it hides here most of the time”, Mr. Nkunga continued.
Finding that he can’t see anything, he told them to take him back immediately. Oliver and friends refused as he was just on the middle of them, within some minutes he saw a quick spotlight that was coming to them. “ I asked them, do you people have a knowledge of that spotlight? They said no”, Mr. Nkunga clarified.
Seeing that the light was coming seriously as they were on a place which is alleged that a lot of people died on it, he pointed a gun at one of them that, “ if you don’t paddle to a close dry land I will shoot you so that if those people will shoot me I better die with you”, he said.
The other two paddled as he said except Oliver who insisted, when he was in a lot of grass the people from that boat with a spotlight started firing some bullets to him alone.
He ran out of water as he saw it going back to Botswana. “ I fired some bullets to it after seeing that I am now on a land”, he stressed.
Mr. Nkunga did not sleep at his camp that night in fear of these Zambian Nationals who had connections in Botswana, he went to Ngoma Police Station where he reported the case which later informed the Katima Mulilo Police Station which took arms to search for these people and then asked him (Oliver) if he saw the spotlight on that day, who admitted he couldn’t run because he saw a Cellular phone which reflected nice colours in the water.
Mr Nkunga added that, one of the police officer who was among the clean up operation encouraged him to be a close friend of Oliver as he can tell him a lot of stories.
Police investigations were gunned down as police vehicles loaded all Zambian Nationals who fished along the Chobe River.
However, Mr.Nkunga opened another case at Bukalo Traditional Khuta as he says Oliver had contradicted himself during the cross examination by the Indunas.
Contacted to hear the side of the story at Bukalo Khuta Induna Bornwell Kamwi who cross-examined said, “ we sent them back (Oliver and Nkunga) to get their witnesses as we are still waiting to finish the case”.
Mr. Kamwi clarified that he was surprised when they asked Oliver how he got all the skeletons of people who missed from different places on the same area?
“Oliver said the first one he saw it as a water lily and merely looking it changed to a skull head of a baboon and thought it might have been killed by a crocodile that was in Botswana when he called his friends who identified that it was a person but it didn’t have jaws and his friends were scared” said Induna Kamwi.
Still at the same place, their paddle took the person’s leg.
Mr. Kamwi confirmed to Caprivi Vision having examined Oliver and sent back the Complainant Mr. Nkunga and the accused Oliver to bring back their witnesses as the case stands in Bukalo Traditional Khuta up to now.
Meanwhile, the Caprivi Vision made efforts to speak to the Police investigator of the case Mr. Trust Siseho at Ngoma Police Station who referred the paper to speak to the Police Public Relation Officer Mr Geoffrey Samunzala, “ I know what you are talking about but please speak to our PRO he will ask me if there are clarities”, Mr. Siseho said.
However, Mr.Samunzala referred this reporter to speak to Seagent Sitali who is mandated to speak to the media, who refused to give feedback and he referred this paper to Warrant Samunzala again as he wanted confirmation from him.
This paper made efforts to hear how far is the police investigation on this case “ I can’t give any confirmation as I told you I’m out of my office… do you now want to give me an instruction? I am out and I don’t know when you can find out from me again”, Mr Samunzala explained.
Captions: Mr. Alpha Nkunga,the survivor,
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