“I cannot swim, but I dived in. I decided if they were dying, we would die together. I just wanted to save them.”
These are the words of Cornelius Shimwaafeni (16), the young hero who saved twin babies from drowning in a pond at Omutundungu village in the Omusati region on Sunday.
Shimwaafeni was herding goats when the twins’ mother walked past.
He says she looked angry, while carrying the babies (9 months) on her back while walking towards the pond.
“I called her twice, but she only looked at me and proceeded to the pond. When she reached the pond, she pulled one baby’s leg and threw it in the pond. I ran quickly, and she threw in the second one,” he says.
Shimwaafeni says he ran, removed the first baby from the pond, and then the second.
Their mother allegedly walked away without looking back until she was far from the pond.
Shimwaafeni says he took the babies to a woman he knew at a nearby shebeen.
Home was a bit far, and I could not go there, he says.
“She told me to take the twins home, while she went to the twins’ father’s house to give him the news. When I reached home, the elders were shocked to hear about the incident. I immediately gave the twins to my mother,” he says.
The twins’ mother had allegedly gone to turn herself in to the police, who found her on the way there.
Omusati governor Immanuel Shikongo has visited Shimwaafeni’s house and that of the twins on Wednesday after the tragic incident to show his support.
A pastor from the village also visited the home for support yesterday.
“They told me to continue being brave,” the boy says.
Shimwaafeni is said to have also saved two boys aged between eight and 10 years old last year.
The boys allegedly fell into a well while herding animals. During a graduation ceremony at Triumphant College in Windhoek on Wednesday, prime minister Elijah Ngurare described Shimwaafeni as a hero, and praised him for his bravery and humanity.
“He didn’t need a degree to be a hero, he didn’t need to speak good English to perform the gesture of humanity,” he said.
Shimwaafeni’s uncle, Jesaya Haidula, says the woman allegedly threw the twins in the pond after an argument with their father. The twins’ father allegedly beat her for destroying his SIM card.
“We were shocked to hear the news when ‘Shapumba’ came home with the twins,” he says.
The woman is currently in police custody.
Omusati police regional commander Ismael Basson earlier this week confirmed her arrest, and said she would appear in court on Monday.
He could, however, not be reached to confirm her court appearance at the time of going to print yesterday.
