THERE were a few reasons why last week Thursday was to have been an exciting day for three-year-old Mweneni du Plessis – she was visiting with her aunt, and would be spending the weekend at her grandmother’s house.
But then tragedy struck and cut everything short.
Mweneni was attacked by a dog in Shandumbala, Katutura, and taken to the Katutura Intermediate Hospital for an anti-rabies injection soon after. But she died two hours later.
Before 10h00 that morning, Mweneni had pleaded with her aunt, Estella Shimoneni, who was visiting a family member in Shandumbala, to take her along.
Shimoneni told at the family home in Shandumbala on Wednesday that she wished she had known the day would end like that, and would have left her at home.
“I have a soft spot for Mweneni. In fact, all of us at home could never say no to her. She was such a sweet child. She asked me so nicely. I said she could come along,” Shimoneni said, adding that they were walking along Hans Dietrich Genscher Street when a dog attacked Mweneni.
“I did not expect the dog to bite her. When it approached us, I picked her up, but it was too late because the dog’s teeth had left a scratch mark on her, although there was no blood. To play it safe, I took her to the hospital for an injection,” Shimoneni explained.
On their way to the hospital, Mweneni told her that she would report the dog to her father, and that the dog was naughty.
Shimoneni said the girl told her that she was brave because when the dog attacked her, she was not afraid.
“I told her she was a brave girl, and that I was proud of her,” sobbed Shimoneni, adding that when they got to the hospital, a doctor referred them to a nurse for the anti-rabies injection.
“I asked the doctor if that was all, and he said yes, she just needed an injection. There were two nurses where Mweneni was to get her injection, and one, a student nurse, prepared the injections while the other nurse watched. She administered two injections on Mweneni – one on the left and another on the right arm,” Shimoneni said.
But after they walked for about 80 metres on their way home, Mweneni told her she was feeling tired.
“I picked her up, and those were the last words she spoke to me. She slept throughout until we got home,” an emotional Shimoneni narrated.
When they got home, her cousin Toini Shilongo asked after Mweneni’s condition, and was told the child was feeling tired and slept.
Shilongo said when she looked at Mweneni, she realised that something was wrong because her breathing was not normal.
“I checked if her heart was beating, and immediately suggested that we must take her back to hospital. When we got to the hospital, the nurses were rude towards us. They told us they were too busy, and we should wait. I panicked, and told them our child was not well,” Shilongo said.
While they were waiting, Shimoneni saw the doctor who had earlier referred them to the nurses, and called the doctor, who asked whether this was not the girl she had just examined.
Shimoneni said when she told her it was her, the doctor took one look at Mweneni and rushed her to the big room.
“I saw how worried the doctor looked, and I knew something was terribly wrong,” cried Shimoneni.
Mweneni was immediately put on intravenous drip and given oxygen, but they could not save her.
She died at 12h25.
Health minister Bernhard Haufiku said they are investigating Mweneni’s death, while the ministry’s spokesperson, Ester Paulus, yesterday said they are waiting for test results on the vaccine.
“She was given anti-rabies vaccine and tetanus-toxoid injections on both arms. The Namibian Medicine Regulatory Council took the vaccine, and we are waiting for results,” Paulus said.
Inspector Joseph Naimhwaka from the SPCA said they tested the dog, and it was negative for rabies, but had been put down.
“The reason for putting down the dog was to test the brains for rabies, and we could not do that while it was alive,” Naimhwaka stated.
Khomas regional police crime investigations coordinator, deputy commissioner Sylvanus Nghishindimbwa said an inquest docket has been opened, and that police investigations are underway.
She will be buried today at the Gammams Cemetery in Pionierspark. Mweneni is survived by her father and siblings. Her mother died last year.
