AFTER almost a decade of sharing the joy of parenthood with his girlfriend, an Ondangwa resident says he now wants the woman to prove that he really is the father of her nine-year-old daughter.
Erick Handunge recently approached the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, hoping they would be able to get his ex-girlfriend to agree to a paternity test. “In 1999 (the year after the child was born), another guy told me that it was his child I was taking care of.I didn’t want to believe him, but the story has always been in my head, so I’ve decided to find out for certain,” Handunge told The Namibian over the weekend.His girlfriend had been in her final year of school when she became pregnant, he said, while the man who insisted on being the father had just finished school at that time.Handunge himself was employed then, he said, something his challenger apparently felt was the only reason he was granted father status.”Her father literally wanted to kill me when he found out she was pregnant, and I just felt that I had reason to feel guilty, so I accepted,” he said.The woman, however, says Handunge simply could not get over the fact that she had left him three months ago.She regards his demands as merely a way of trying to worm out of paying maintenance for his child.”A social worker did contact me last week, but I told her I’m not interested in his nonsense.If he feels that he doesn’t want to support his child, that’s fine.He can forget that he ever had her.I’m not pleading with any man,” she said when approached yesterday.Handunge’s story was first heard on NBC radio’s National Chat Show, when the 31-year-old voiced his views there.This apparently prompted a phone call to Handunge from the Gender Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ciska Hausiku, who promised an investigation into the matter.”But besides that call, itÕs only been me making all the effort.”Maybe because I’m a man they haven’t done anything yet.Imagine if this was a woman in my shoes.I would already have been in jail or in court,” Hausiku said about the Ministry’s involvement in the case.However, Acting PS Helena Endjamba said the case had only been officially handed to them last week Tuesday.”In 1999 (the year after the child was born), another guy told me that it was his child I was taking care of.I didn’t want to believe him, but the story has always been in my head, so I’ve decided to find out for certain,” Handunge told The Namibian over the weekend.His girlfriend had been in her final year of school when she became pregnant, he said, while the man who insisted on being the father had just finished school at that time.Handunge himself was employed then, he said, something his challenger apparently felt was the only reason he was granted father status.”Her father literally wanted to kill me when he found out she was pregnant, and I just felt that I had reason to feel guilty, so I accepted,” he said.The woman, however, says Handunge simply could not get over the fact that she had left him three months ago.She regards his demands as merely a way of trying to worm out of paying maintenance for his child. “A social worker did contact me last week, but I told her I’m not interested in his nonsense.If he feels that he doesn’t want to support his child, that’s fine.He can forget that he ever had her.I’m not pleading with any man,” she said when approached yesterday. Handunge’s story was first heard on NBC radio’s National Chat Show, when the 31-year-old voiced his views there.This apparently prompted a phone call to Handunge from the Gender Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ciska Hausiku, who promised an investigation into the matter.”But besides that call, itÕs only been me making all the effort.”Maybe because I’m a man they haven’t done anything yet.Imagine if this was a woman in my shoes.I would already have been in jail or in court,” Hausiku said about the Ministry’s involvement in the case.However, Acting PS Helena Endjamba said the case had only been officially handed to them last week Tuesday.
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