Villagers tortured after death of NDF officer

Namibian Defence Force (NDF) soldiers allegedly tortured villagers in the Kavango border region this week in retaliation for the death of one of their colleagues, the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) told IRIN on Thursday.

Zen Mnakapa, a spokesman for the NSHR, said Captain David Poneyimo was shot with an arrow on Monday in the village of Mbunya, about 40 km west of the regional capital Rundu, after he allegedly pretended to be a UNITA rebel and went from house to house threatening to kill people.

“The villagers reported the incident to the NDF stationed in the area. The next morning when they went to investigate they discovered that the dead man was a member of the NDF. Soldiers then started beating people and some villagers have been hospitalised because of their injuries,” Mnakapa said.

Meanwhile, ‘The Namibian’ said on Thursday that the police were investigating a charge of murder against two of the villagers. The two, according to the report, were “severely” beaten by members of the NDF at the Mbunya military post. Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu of the Namibian Police told the newspaper that two men had been admitted to Rundu hospital.

Defence spokesmen Vincent Mwange was quoted as saying that he could not comment on the killing and the torture because he had not received a report. In instances where soldiers were accused of a crime, Mwange said “the law will take its course, besides internal disciplinary procedures”.