By: Hendrina Kanyolo / Josia Shigwedha
The search for the body of a six-year-old boy who drowned in a stream in Grysblock area in Windhoek on Sunday afternoon, has been concluded after an independent diver recovered his remains after hours of searching. According to the Namibian Police report, Jayden Isacks allegedly drowned while playing with his friends.
Little Isack's parents, extended family members and Grysblock residents surrounded the sewage dam early this morning as the search continued from yesterday afternoon.
A sombre mood... residents prayed for the retrieval of the body and a number of minutes later just after 10 in the morning, an independent diver, Percy Openshaw of Crisis response recovered Isack's lifeless body.
Isacks aunt, Caroline Hendriks narrated her sister' last words to her son before she had left home on Sunday afternoon.
“Her last words to her son yesterday were, stay in the house, don't go out and play before I come back. But a kid is just a kid,” said an emotional Hendriks.
In addition, the uncle to the deceased, Hendrik Mentoor blamed the City of Windhoek for Isack's death. Mentoor said four people have perished in the same sewage dam and despite numerous complaints to the municipality to fix the broken sewer pipes which flows in the dam, nothing has been done.
“This could have been avoided. For years this holes have been here. There have been several bodies lost in this pond. You can call it a pond, so this one fatality is just one too many. It is time for us to stand up. Why do we pay tax if the City of Windhoek does not uphold its part," questioned Hendriks.
Windhoek's Mayor Sade Gawanas ordered the municipality to renovate the broken sewage pipes with immediate effect and fence it off.
Gawanas added that this is a sad situation because it seems in the country one has to die from hunger or negligence before something is done.
“There are so many different incidents happening in our city and you would wonder should it really happen like this. Do we need to have incidents like this. I mean people are saying, where was the mother. How dare you ask a question like that. I would have lost my mind if someone asked me that just after my child had drowned," said Gawanas.
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