Poverty-stricken woman loses memory after son’s death

By Eliaser Ndeyanale at Oshakati

FIVE years after her son was brutally murdered, 83-year-old Ester Angula has not come to grips with the sudden loss of her eldest son, and amid the pressures of poverty she shows signs of memory loss.

Born in Okangala village near Okahao in northern Namibia, businessman Theofelus Kafo (45) was shot dead at his well-known bar Kafo No. 2 in Windhoek’s Otjomuise Agste Laan, reportedly by Jason Mukwendje, who at the time of the incident was a member of the Namibian police-backed community policing forum, women and men network.

Mukwendje was reportedly arrested in connection with the death but was released from jail after serving six months in prison. Angula’s daughter, Aina Amunyela (36), said her brother was the breadwinner in the family but after his death, the family became poor with no one to support them financially.

“We don’t know what happened to the case. I cannot find a closure… This experience has been hard for us as siblings and to my mother, who lost her memory after my brother’s death.

She knows that he died but she forgets everything.

I still dream about my brother. I don’t know if this will go away,” said Amunyela.

Even though she was able to manage a weak laugh, it was evident that Aina was still deeply affected by her brother’s gruesome death because the alleged killer is still roaming free.

Amunyela said her brother was killed on the night of 19 September 2015 after his alleged killer was involved in a fight with some unknown men outside the business premises. He came running into the bar and Kafo asked him what was going on. After he was briefed, he told Mukwendje to remain inside but surprisingly the suspect started firing into the roof and then shot Kafo in the head, she recalled.

“We don’t know when the suspect is going to appear in court again but I don’t believe my brother is gone. It’s unreal. My mother couldn’t believe it, as well. Initially my mother, she would think that we had a hand in the killing but we know nothing about it. We are in a fog and all we want is justice to take its course.

“My mother is unable to cope with the death of Theofilus.

We are poverty-stricken because of his death. The pain has not fully eased as the memory is always there and will never fade.” She said her brother was close to a lot of people both in Windhoek and places like Omatuni and Otjondeka both in Omusati region, where he owned supermarkets.

Aina said her mother did not inherit anything of value from her son. “She only got a handful of cattle from a cattle post that she and my brother owned but the cattle were hers, which she had given to my brother when he was still arrive. The cars, houses have been inherited by other people that I cannot mention at this time.”