Niël Terblanché
PANDEMONIUM erupted at the Ngoma border post while hundreds of people waited for the remains of three of the four fishermen that were killed by soldiers of the Botswana Defence Force to be repatriated to Namibia.
The situation turned violent when some people in the crowd started throwing rocks at passing trucks with Botswana registration plates. Some of the trucks were badly damaged while at least one driver sustained injuries.
The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr. Albert Kawana and Zambezi Regional Governor Alufeu Sampofu, along with some other delegates from the Namibian Government travelled to the Ngoma border post to officially receive the bodies of the three brothers that were repatriated on Saturday afternoon.
Both were forced to intervene with the crowd of angry residents after the situation threatened to get out of hand.
The coffins, in which the bodies of Tommy Nchindo, Wamunyima Nchindo, Martin Nchindo, were transported were transferred from vehicles belonging to the government of Botswana to waiting hearses on the Namibian side. It is not yet clear if the remains of their cousin Sinvula Munyeme will be repatriated to Zambia or to Namibia.
The large crowd of people started getting unruly when they felt that the officials on duty at the border post, were delaying the repatriation process unnecessarily.
