Hertta-Maria Amutenja
What was supposed to be a jolly night out for Kriat Kamanya and his friend, turned out to be wheelchair-bound sentence and a lifetime of pain.
Six years after Kamanya was attacked near a Puma Service Station in Oshakati by four men over a cell phone, he says the four culprits have not yet been brought to book and that one of them has never even been arrested.
The suspects, according to court records are Dawood Nangolo, Voice Shatumbu, Absalom Shatumbu and Petrus Simon, who is yet to be arrested.
Kamaynya who says he used to work and had his life together has been left emotionally and physically devastated after the incident.
“I was even studying and pursuing my university qualification at the time I was attacked and everything has shut down since. It is emotionally devastating that there is nothing that I can do on my own and depend fully on people. Even scratching my back, I would need someone to do that for me. I got a spinal injury that left me paralyzed. My body is on fire all the time. I go through a pain that no painkiller or any injection can numb so I constantly have to throw some cold water all over my body so that it cools me off. The pain is equivalent to burning by fire,” he stated.
According to Kamanya, he was attacked on the 2 September 2017. During the attack, he was harassed by a group of thugs who hit him with a brick on his spine. The attack left him paralysed.
“The attack occurred around eight in the evening in Oshakati by the Puma Service Station. At the time it was under construction. A friend of mine from Windhoek had invited me to her place for some braai meat. I did not know where she was staying but she said I should give her a call for directions. I called her and she came to meet me soon after I had arrived at the service station. As I got out of the car we hugged and soon after that four guys approached me insulting me and demanding for my phone,” he said.
Kamayna narrated that the it was the scariest five seconds of his life, when he was overpowered by the four men that attacked him.
“One of the guys was behind me and the other three were in front of me. They overpowered me and one of them hit me with a paving brick on my spine and that was the most horrible five seconds of my life. I was face down and all I remember is being surrounded by people and asking for help. I asked them to help me turn over so could face up because I could not move. My mouth was full of sand and I was running out of breath. People were very reluctant to assist me but the lady friend I was meeting managed to turn me over,” he added.
He said he needed someone to drive his car so that they could take him to the hospital, however, people didn’t want to touch him until the police came to the scene.
“Lucky enough, my friend’s cousin came and drove me to Oshakati State Hospital where I was treated until I had to be sent to Windhoek Central Hospital to see a spinal specialist because I could not walk. I was there for almost a month,” said Kamanya.
Kamanya says the case has been cold since the incident and there has been little to no development in the investigation.
“I think two years after I became paralysed, we have been fighting this case and nothing has developed. At one point the case was handed over to another police officer because the first one that was handling the case apparently went to study and then they had to start all over to look for the suspects again.
The police have probably been to my house four or five times coming to ask me the same question for the same report,” he said.
According to him, it was only until February 2019 when he posted a video of himself speaking about his case on social media that the case got some attention from the police.
“I believe that video shook them a bit because the office of the then Inspector General. Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga assigned investigators from Windhoek to the case. At that time, they said there was one of the culprits who is also wanted for another crime they could not find and was at large and a warrant of arrest was issued for him. They also said he was suspected to be in the Erongo Region and they are working hand in hand with the coast’s police,” he said.
The Head of investigations of the Oshana police, Deputy Commissioner Theophilus Kamati told Windhoek Observer that he is aware of the case and that the matter is pending in the Regional Court.
Kamati confirmed that Simon has not been arrested as his whereabouts are unknown.
Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa declined to comment on the matter.
“I am very busy and have important things to do. I do not have time to answer newspaper questions,” she said.
