A homeless man (63) says he has been forced by circumstances to live in the psychiatric ward of the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital, despite not requiring treatment.
German citizen Ralf Gunter Domas told The Namibian this week the psychiatric ward has been his home since 22 March last year.
He said he was brought to the hospital by the police.
At the time, he did not have a roof over his head.
This was after he was reportedly thrown out of the house of his parent-in-law by his wife, Lena Amukugo (41).
Amukugo is a Namibian citizen who allegedly lived with Domas in her parents’ traditional homestead at Onkuni village near Ondangwa.
The couple got married in 2013, and have two kids , aged 9 and 7.
He said he has been homeless for about five months since being arrested by the police and dumped at the hospital.
“I was starving and homeless. Lena knew this, probably even wanted it. This constitutes a crime of domestic violence,” he said.
“I ended up here, and the hospital gave me depression tablets. I was not sick. They brought me to the hospital. It is against my will. They allow me to go out of the hospital and come back, unlike other people who are insane,” said Domas, who added that he depends on “friendly people.”
“I am housed there with about 100 people, some of whom are seriously ill, and I am exposed to these mentally ill people 24/7. I am perfectly healthy. No one who hasn’t experienced it themselves can imagine what mental torture it is. Without the chance to escape these hardships,” he said.
Oshakati Intermediate Hospital psychiatric department head Dr Moges Admassu told The Namibian yesterday that Domas is not a psychiatric patient.
“He is not sick mentally and if we allow him to go, where is he going to stay? To keep him here is just humanity. His rational thinking is good. He makes it look as if we want to keep him here. If he wants to go, he can go. It will be a relief to us but we don’t want to dump him on the street,” he said.
While at the hospital, Domas was on treatment for depression but it was discontinued in October last year after it was found that he is fine.
“He is a good chef as well. I think he was depressed because he does not have money any more,” Admassu said.
“My wife took my children away from me without a court order. Maybe someone can imagine what an extreme emotional component that is,” he said.
Domas alleges that his wife forced him to leave the house after his Rossini Bar and Restaurant at Ondangwa closed down in 2019.
“It is seriously difficult for a man to understand that his wife renounces the oath “in good times and in bad” and only accepts the good times,” he said.
Amukugo told The Namibian to find out about her husband’s mental state.
“You may consult them too if need be. In regards to the house he spoke about; have you ever questioned him about; whose house was it? And if we ever acquired a matrimonial home or a flat? And how did I kick him out? If he had money, what happened to it?” she said.
Oshana region’s police commander Naftal Sakaria told The Namibian Domas registered a case of theft against his wife with the police.
“He claims his wife sold the car using forged documents but there is a permission that he granted his wife that she can sell the car. However, the man has denied that. He alleges that his wife forged his signature. We have sent the specimen to the forensic department of the police,” he said.
The police said the car was sold to a third-party, who went on to sell it to someone else.
However, Sakaria said the car’s ownership has not yet been changed on the Natis system.
He said Domas is currently pushing to register a charge of gender-based violence against his wife.
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