Rundu — A 38-year-old man tragically died Tuesday morning after he was shot allegedly by an environment ministry official who was attempting to put down a buffalo calf along the Kavango River.
The unfortunate event occurred at Shinyungwe village in the Ndiyona constituency of Kavango East region.
According to preliminary reports, a bullet caught and wounded villager Katiki Patrick Haushiku who at the time had sought cover between the reeds along the Kavango River.
The victim initially sustained serious injuries to the abdomen and waist before he was rushed to the Nyangana district hospital where he succumbed upon arrival.
“The shooting was on Tuesday morning around 11h30 at the Shinyungwe floodplains area,” said Kavango East crime investigations coordinator Deputy Commissioner Bonifatius Kanyetu.
According to the police, community members reported seeing a buffalo calf in their cattle herd in the past few days.
The matter was since reported to the environment ministry for intervention.
“The ministry acted to the report to secure the situation by deploying the team which consisted of Namibian Defence Force (NDF) special forces. In the process of tracking the very buffalo calf, they managed to trace it and shot it with the G3 rifle,” said Kanyetu.
“One of the bullets penetrated through and struck a member of the community in the eastern direction who was believed to have been hiding behind the thick reeds.”
According to Kanyetu, the suspected official is yet to be arrested as police investigations continue. The environment ministry yesterday promised to issue a statement on the matter. However, at the time of going to print yesterday, New Era had not seen the statement.