Katima mulilo: A two-year-old toddler drowned on Friday in a fish pond at her grandparents' home in the Liselo area of the Katima Mulilo Rural Constituency in the Zambezi Region. Zambezi Police Crime Investigating Coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Albius Lyomba, confirmed the incident to Nampa on Saturday, saying other minors discovered the toddler in the pond and alerted the elders.
According to Namibia Press Agency, it is further alleged that a certain Mr. Kwenani pulled the lifeless body from the pond. Family members then rushed the toddler to the hospital, where a nurse at the Katima Mulilo State Hospital declared her dead. The deceased's next of kin have been informed, and police investigations continue.
In a separate water-related tragedy, two Zambian men are feared dead after a hippo attacked their canoe while crossing the Limbalanganda channel along the Namibian side of the Zambezi River in the Kabbe South Constituency on Thursday. The hippo reportedly bit the 33-year-old, who is now believed to have succumbed to his injuries in the water, while his 22-year-old companion presumably drowned. The bodies have not yet been recovered and investigations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, a joint search by NamPol and the Zambian Police has led to the retrieval of one of two people who drowned last Sunday at Nfoma village in the Imukusi area of the Kabbe North Constituency. The remains of eight-year-old Muhau Muhau were discovered on Thursday in the Mahonono area on the Zambian side of the Zambezi River. His grandfather positively identified him. The boy was among seven people traveling in a canoe that capsized on the Namibian side of the river.
All occupants were Zambian nationals from Katongo village in the Sesheke District who had allegedly crossed into Namibia illegally to attend a funeral at Nfoma. Five people managed to swim to shore, while two others held onto the canoe. However, strong winds caused the canoe to drift, and they disappeared. The two who drowned have been identified as a 51-year-old female and an eight-year-old boy, Zambezi Regional Commander, Commissioner Julia Sakuwa-Neo, told Nampa earlier this week. The body of the 51-year-old woman has not yet been located. The joint search operation continues.