Two Namibian fishermen missing after illegally crossing Liyanti River to Botswana
Lyanshulu villager Chamaku Shomana (79) says she has been living in agony for the past month.
Her son, Tokomelo Lunyanzo (39), has not returned home after going fishing in Botswana.
“Not knowing what happened to my son for the past month has left me worried. I cannot even sleep. I want to go search for my son even if lions kill me.
“Since they were there illegally, I suspect they might have been taken by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF),” she says.
Shomana says Lunyanzo’s father was hospitalised when he heard the news.
Lunyanzo, a person known only as ‘Danny’ (a Zambian national), and two others allegedly illegally crossed into Botswana via the Liyanti River in the Zambezi region on 9 June to fish in the Washanya River near Bush Lodge.
Upon getting to the Washanya River in Botswana, Lunyanzo and Danny separated from the two other fishermen and went to set up camp elsewhere.
The two men later in the day decided to go check up on Lunyanzo and Danny, but only found their blankets, maize, and a torch.
They thought the two may have decided to go fishing and left again.
The next morning, they still could not find Lunyanzo and Danny at their camp.
The two men then crossed back into Namibia and informed Lunyanzo’s family of the missing men.
Shomana says the family has since reported the incident to Sangwali Police Station, but claim the police have not done much to locate them.
She says the government must engage the Botswana government to trace Danny and her son.
Lunyanzo’s uncle, Lister Rutiyo, says the family is aware that the two crossed the river illegally, but this does not warrant them being captured without their relatives being informed.
He says the canoe the two were travelling in is also missing.
“If they were attacked by wildlife or whatever, the canoe could also be found nearby. However, now they are just gone without a trace.
That’s impossible. It just points to them being captured.
“Therefore, we as a family demand that those who captured them must come forward,” Rutiyo says.
Zambezi regional police commander commissioner Julia Sakuwa-Neo yesterday confirmed that a missing persons report was opened on 17 June with regards to Lunyanzo and Danny.
She said the group of four men – two Namibian men and two Zambian men – used two canoes to cross into Botswana illegally around 16h00 on 9 June.
“Two, one Zambian and one Namibian, crossed back home, while the other two, one Zambian and one Namibian, did not come back to Namibia and have been missing to date.
The Botswana counterpart alongside the border has been informed about the missing persons.
“A missing file has been opened at Sangwali Police Station and awaits a joint investigation.
A formal report was communicated to the Office of the Inspector General for onward transmission to Botswana through the diplomatic channels,” she said.
Sakuwa-Neo cautioned the community to refrain from conducting illegal fishing in Botswana and Zambia and vice versa.
The incident comes nearly six years after the four Nchindo brothers and their cousin Sinvula Munyeme were allegedly killed by the Botswana Defence Force on the Chobe River at the Botswana-Namibia border.
