Nine-year-old Jimmy Gubeb from Otavi’s Harambee Informal Settlement fell into the municipal sewerage dam and drowned on Thursday.
The Harambee informal settlement came into existence next to the pond as a result of land grabbing.
The family narrated the fateful day when they were attending a memorial service for another family member at a nearby house with little Jimmy.
Moments later, the children ran off, including Jimmy, and the elders thought they went back home.
It was not until one of them returned to the house where the elders were attending a memorial with the terrifying news.
“There was a little girl who ran to us and said the boy had fallen in; she said it was my grandson, and then we ran from the other house to the pond. I could only see his plakkies floating on top.”
The victim’s uncle continued with the search until he found the lifeless body about four hours later.
He said that even though he was tired of searching, the thought of leaving his nephew there made him carry on until he found him.
Otavi Constituency Councillor George Garab was there too.
“Community members are telling us that some of these residents are using this water to water their plants, etc. Now one wants to ask oneself why this is happening; the only reasonable answer is that maybe the taps are far from the people.”
Residents cut the fence to gain access to the pond, though it is only half fenced off.
The municipality’s chief executive officer says the pond will be relocated to the western part of the town and a waste treatment plant will be put up, and it’s just a matter of finances.
The relocation process might not commence this year, and residents are therefore cautioned to refrain from cutting the fence because they are putting young lives in danger.
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