Child-chaining couple speaks

Headman Johannes Kanime and Ndeshihafela Immanuel, a couple accused of abusing and chaining a nine-year-old girl at Otambo ya Kawali in the Oshikoto Region, said they chained the orphaned child to prevent her from committing further crimes in the community.

Namibian Sun visited the couple at their home in the Omuntele constituency yesterday, where they made it clear they will not take the child back and that government should find a new home for her.

The couple was arrested last weekend after the child was found in chains by villagers, who then alerted constituency councillor Sacky Nangula.

Justifying the abusive treatment, Kanime (94) said the victim has been a problematic child for a long time and there is a pending criminal case at the local traditional court after she allegedly defecated in a neighbour’s house.

He said the girl moved into his house with her aunt, Immanuel, in 2016.

In 2019, the trouble started, they said.

Taken in

Immanuel said she received a call in 2014 from the gender ministry, asking if knew the victim’s father.

“I was told they are calling from Oshakati hospital and they have a baby who was left in the room and they cannot find the mother. They requested me to go and see the baby and I questioned what I was going to do.

“I refused because my nephew [the girl’s father] never told me his girlfriend was pregnant or that they had a newborn. I bought a new sim card to avoid the calls. After five months, [it] kept bothering me,” she said.

Immanuel then called her sister, the girl’s grandmother.

“She said she had already been left with three children by her son, and she will not be taking in one more.

“The officials called again. They took me to see the baby. At the time, she was six months old and I refused because I didn’t have an income. I told them I would come back, left and never returned,” she recalled.

The ministry kept pestering her, Immanuel said.

“Eventually my financial situation improved and I agreed to take her in. She didn’t have anything when we left the centre gates. I had to buy everything. My nephew didn’t support his daughter. He didn’t even come to see her since we left the centre to date,” she said.

When she turned two, Immanuel told the girl’s grandmother to take over, but the toddler was returned the very next day.

Take care of your children

Immanuel said young people have a tendency of giving birth and not taking responsibility for their children. Last year, she learnt that the girl’s mother had died.

“Her father is alive but he doesn’t send money or visit the child. Why should we be given the responsibility of taking care of a child we didn’t want in the first place, and who is now abusing us?” she questioned.

Immanuel is adamant that the girl steals eggs and chicken and cooks for only herself.

The nine-year-old has also been accused of stealing her grandfather’s pension money, which by now reportedly totals N$1 000.

During Namibian Sun’s visit, another woman corroborated Immanuel’s story and said she too thought the victim was being abused until she began to see the child’s “true colours”.

Chained

Kanime said last week they made a decision to release the victim into the care of her grandmother.

The girl, who has been accused of various crimes, was reportedly caught in the act eating watermelons from a neighbour’s house.

“I decided to chain her while waiting for the next day for her aunt to pick her up. She escaped the chains and went to the cuca shops and we were arrested afterwards,” he said.

Not unruly

Oshalongo Primary School principal Hambelela Helena Iipinge said the school has observed the abuse the girl has been subjected to for a long time.

The girl started attending school in 2020 when she turned seven. According to Iipinge, she failed grade one twice and was pushed to grade two this year because policy doesn’t allow children to repeat a grade three times.

“This year alone, she did not come to school in January or February. She only attended five days in March. In April, she also didn’t come,” she said.

Iipinge said although the girl is accused of stealing and being an unruly child, she has not observed such behaviour at school. She added that the girl has never stolen anything from school or her own home, where she sometimes seeks refuge.

“She is suffering from hunger and comes to school with no lunch box. Her hair colour is also an indication of lack of nutrition. The Good Samaritans offer her food now and then. She lived at my house at some point for a short period and she has never shown unruly behaviour during her time there.

“She does not steal anything else except food,” the principal said.

Series of abuse

Iipinge said last year the girl was burned and it left her with a disabled finger.

She said according to the girl, Immanuel burned her by pouring hot porridge over her hand.

Immanuel denies this and said the girl was busy stealing meat from the pot and burned herself.

“The burn wound was so bad I had to seek medical attention for her. After getting her care, we had a school board meeting. We went to visit the guardians but we could not come to an agreement.

“She suffered. And we cried when we saw her in chains. The police must do their investigations and find justice for her.”

Under care

Naomi Mutikisha, a social worker dealing with the girl’s case, said she is temporarily being kept at Omuthiya hospital for her own safety.

She added that there are marks on the victim’s body that indicate that she suffered serious abuse.

“We are assessing the situation and looking for a new family for her. What is clear for now is that she will not be going back to the old house. If we do not manage to find a new family to take her in, we will follow the process and place her at one of the SOS homes either in Ondangwa or Tsumeb,” she said.