Shomwele's remains exhumed at Ondjadjaxwi
The remains of Simon Haufiku Shomwele, who died 51 years ago, were exhumed and reburied at Ondjadjaxwi in Ohangwena Region over the weekend.
The Ohangwena Regional Court granted permission to Shomwele's family to exhume the remains and give him a dignified burial.
Family members exhumed the remains on Friday and handed them over to an undertaker for safekeeping and reburial on Saturday.
Shomwele, a former priest at Ondjadjaxwi, was murdered while on his way home from one of the synagogues in the area and was buried in the bush in 1968.
Apart from the skeleton found in the grave, the shoes that he was wearing on the day he died were also found.
Hendrina Nabot, one of Shomwele's remaining children, said the family wanted a dignified burial for her late father at the Ondjadjaxwi cemetery.
“We finally managed to accord our father a dignified burial. Due to the nature in which he died, he was not buried with dignity. We are now at peace that we even managed to erect a tombstone on the grave,” said Nabot.
The family said Shomwele, who was born in 1915, was murdered on Sunday 15 April 1968 after he had delivered a Sunday sermon at Ohalushu.
Family members requested permission from the authorities to exhume and rebury the remains.
Their request was supported by the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority (OTA) and the community of Ohangwena.
In a letter dated 3 December, Ohangwena Regional Magistrate Leopold Hangalo granted permission to the family to relocate Shomwele's burial site.
“Having read the OTA letter dated 17 July 2019, permission is hereby granted in terms of the provision of Section 2 of Burial Place Ordinance 27 of 1966, to remove and relocate the remains of the late Shomwele for the purpose of reburial,” wrote Hangalo.
ILENI NANDJATO
The Ohangwena Regional Court granted permission to Shomwele's family to exhume the remains and give him a dignified burial.
Family members exhumed the remains on Friday and handed them over to an undertaker for safekeeping and reburial on Saturday.
Shomwele, a former priest at Ondjadjaxwi, was murdered while on his way home from one of the synagogues in the area and was buried in the bush in 1968.
Apart from the skeleton found in the grave, the shoes that he was wearing on the day he died were also found.
Hendrina Nabot, one of Shomwele's remaining children, said the family wanted a dignified burial for her late father at the Ondjadjaxwi cemetery.
“We finally managed to accord our father a dignified burial. Due to the nature in which he died, he was not buried with dignity. We are now at peace that we even managed to erect a tombstone on the grave,” said Nabot.
The family said Shomwele, who was born in 1915, was murdered on Sunday 15 April 1968 after he had delivered a Sunday sermon at Ohalushu.
Family members requested permission from the authorities to exhume and rebury the remains.
Their request was supported by the Oukwanyama Traditional Authority (OTA) and the community of Ohangwena.
In a letter dated 3 December, Ohangwena Regional Magistrate Leopold Hangalo granted permission to the family to relocate Shomwele's burial site.
“Having read the OTA letter dated 17 July 2019, permission is hereby granted in terms of the provision of Section 2 of Burial Place Ordinance 27 of 1966, to remove and relocate the remains of the late Shomwele for the purpose of reburial,” wrote Hangalo.
ILENI NANDJATO
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article