The whereabouts of the docket in a fatal crash investigation involving suspended police chief Joseph Shikongo remain disputed, with the prosecutor general’s office and the police giving conflicting accounts.
Acting prosecutor general Martha Imalwa says the docket was returned to the police for further investigations, while acting deputy inspector general Elias Mutota maintains that the police completed their investigation and that the file remains with the prosecution.
The conflicting accounts leave uncertainty over the next steps in a case involving a crash that claimed three lives.
Speaking to The Namibian on Tuesday, Imalwa said her office was still waiting for the police to complete their investigations.
“We are still waiting for the completion of the investigations by the police,” she said.
Imalwa confirmed that the docket had been sent back to the Namibian Police for further investigations but could not immediately recall when it was returned.
“Guys, I deal with a lot of dockets and I don’t have each docket in my hands. Namibia is too big to remember everything. What I know, it went to the Namibian Police for further investigations,” she said.
However, Mutota said the police had not received the docket back from the prosecutor general’s office since submitting it.
“The last time we spoke, I said the docket is with the PG. Since then, it never came back to the police. No, we don’t have the docket,” he said.
Mutota insisted that the police had completed their investigation and were no longer in possession of the file.
“We did our investigation and we have concluded the investigation and the docket is not with us. Truly speaking, we don’t have the docket,” he said.
A source in the prosecutor general’s office told The Namibian last week that when the docket was received from the Oshakati High Court in 2024, deputy prosecutor general advocate Lucious Matota had recommended in the docket that Shikongo be prosecuted on the count of culpable homicide.
Matota was not reachable for comment yesterday.
Acting inspector general of police Anne-Marie Nainda referred The Namibian to Mutota when approached for comment, saying he had also been involved in the matter.
“I think the right person to talk to is general Mutota, who was also part of that,” she says.
THREE LIVES LOST
Shikongo was involved in a fatal head-on collision on the Ondangwa-Oshikango road that claimed three lives. The deceased were Frans Ndengu, Stefanus Lukas and Sofia Ananias.
He was reportedly investigated on allegations of culpable homicide, reckless driving and negligent driving in connection with the accident.
Shikongo was removed from his position as police chief in May this year.
Ndengu’s brother, Fillemon, told The Namibian yesterday when the family met Imalwa last year, the family was informed by Imalwa that the docket was in her office.
“She said a lot of things were outstanding that need to be addressed before a decision on prosecution can be made. We are still waiting for them to provide us with information as to where the docket is,” he said.
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