Shipanga inquest re-opened Edson Haufiku Thursday, April 10, 2014 - 07:45 Investigations into the slaying under dubious circumstances of Matthew ‘Shipi’ Shipanga, allegedly by members of the Namibian Police (Nampol), more than three years ago, have been re-opened. The latest comes exactly a year after Khomas Regional Crime Co-Ordinator Sylvanus Nghishidimbwa confirmed that the investigations were concluded and that the docket was already forwarded to the office of the Prosecutor General for a decision on whether to prosecute. Lawyer Norman Tjombe of the law firm Tjombe & Elago, who is representing Shipanga’s family in their search for clarification on how he was shot and the subsequent alleged cover-up by the police, said he is pressuring the authorities to institute legal action against those responsible for the late Shipanga’s death. Last year, Nghishidimbwa indicated that the implicated law enforcers were all interviewed and their statements were obtained. He, however, declined to say whether any of them had been charged with any offence. Nampol declared that Shipanga was shot in the back and killed after speeding from a temporary police roadblock between Rocky Crest and Otjomuise in the early hours of 7 February 2011. He allegedly fled because he was afraid of being detained for drinking and driving. Last year, Shipanga’s elderly mother and children set in motion plans to sue Nampol and the Ministry of Safety and Security due to the authorities’ silence on the killing and failure in finalising the inquest. The family filed a lawsuit against Nampol and the case was expected to be heard in the High Court last November. Besides seeking clarification on how Shipanga was shot, the family also accused the police of a cover-up regarding the type of weapon fired at Shipanga. Informanté reported in 2012 that a close examination of the car seat in which Shipanga was shot showed a bullet hole in the rear end of the car and more than two holes in the driver’s seat. Shipanga was found with two bullet holes on the right side of his chest, fuelling speculation that he was shot at point-blank range through an open right-front window. Dave Kamulu, a cousin of the deceased and owner of the vehicle, is still unable to have the bullet holes in his vehicle repaired by the police. The PG recently wrote him a letter informing Kamulu government will not pay for the damages and that he would have to seek legal representation to argue his case.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 11:00:01 +0000
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