Niël Terblanché
The Namibian Government has resolved to avail an amount of N$107 000 to the Kungumu family, who lost 16 members as a result of poisoning two weeks ago.
According to a statement by I-Ben Nashandi, the Executive Director of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the funds will cover expenditures related to funeral services.
The catastrophic incident at the Kayova village situated in the Ndiyona Constituency of the Kavango East Region made headlines around the globe. Two out of the 16 victims were adults. The remaining 14 victims were all children between the ages of two and 16 years old.
The deceased persons were part of a family of 24, who about two weeks ago consumed porridge made from mahangu flour and the fermented sediment from a homemade beer known as mundevere.
According to Nashandi, the government, by way of the National Emergency Disaster Fund (NEDF), will cover the cost of coffins, the cost of the mass funeral as well as transport costs for all the deceased to the value of N$82 000. The fund will also provide N$15 000 worth of food and refreshments and an additional N$10 000 for the rental of two shade tents.
“The Office of the Prime Minister and the government at large wish to extend its sincere compassion to the bereaved family of Godfried Shishugho Kangungu and the entire Ndiyona Constituency community who lost their loved ones in this unexpected shocking calamity,” Nashandi said.
Nashandi called on all faith-based organizations, social workers, psychologists, community leaders, international organizations, the corporate sector, public enterprises and individuals to assist the bereaved family to cope with this difficult situation.
Since the tragic death of the 16 people, the Namibian Police have released the names of all the deceased persons.
The deceased are identified as 33-year-old Shishugho Bertha Ruhepo, who passed away in the Rundu Intermediate Hospital, 12-year-old girls Lishaka Shishugho, Innoncetia Matumbo Shishugho, and Albertina Shishugho, both six-year-old, who passed away at the Nyangana Hospital.
Police also reported that the three-year-old Gende Mushongo, a boy, Chisola Litwayi, a nine-year-old girl, Liyomokera Kamuyoyo, a two-year-old baby and the 14-year-old Shishugho Mununga, a boy passed away.
The six-year-old girl, Roswitha Mungamba, the seven-year-old Rebecca Mwengere, the nine-month-old Liyomkela Matjayi Kamuyoyo, Rosalia Runguro Shishugho, aged ten, Manguyi Johannes Mushongo, a three-year-old boy, Litwayi Ndumba Anton, aged seven, Gilbert Haushiku Shishugho, 16, and Petrus Shishugho, a 21-year-old man.
