By Charmaine Boois
Mariental, 27 October – Anna-Marie !Aochamus, the mother of Hendrina Mupolo, (9), who died after allegedly being run over by Mariental farmer Johan Meyer in May, says she is not seeking any financial settlement from Meyers and has never sought a lawyer to represent her.
She said she had never desired legal representation in the first place and had countless discussions with her family and Elias Mupolo, her children’s father, after her daughter’s tragic death.
That was until Elias Mupolo arrived at her home in Mariental some days after the funeral and took her to meet lawyer Norman Tjombe.
“I was unaware that we would be meeting a lawyer. He informed me that we would be meeting a man who would help us. Because I was in a state of mourning, I could not think clearly and agreed with whatever was being said,” !Aochamus says.
She said the lawyer asked how much money she hoped to get from Meyer but !Aochamus said she didn’t want any money.
After their initial meeting, according to !Aochamus, the lawyer solely dealt with Elias, who wasn’t a witness at the crime scene, and never got in touch with her.
“They never informed me of the court date or time. Only Elias was aware of what was happening, and the only time Elias came to me was when he wanted me to sign documents from the lawyer which I believe to be incorrect.
“Elias was never involved in my daughter Hendrina’s upbringing. He acts as though he has the right to make demands now that my daughter has passed away, so I wanted Tjombe to stop speaking on my behalf,” !Aochamus said.
!Aochamus said she phoned Tjombe and sent an email and fax urging him to stop representing her, or pursuing the money claim against Meyer, and let the magistrate handle the case and he allegedly responded by saying they would still talk about it.
Wenner Moses Engelbergh, !Aochamus’ brother, claims that !Aochamus came to them in tears after reading a report in the Namibian newspaper on October 24, 2022, that Tjombe had filed a civil lawsuit against the Meyers for N$10,1 million on behalf of the family around July, which the mother was unaware of until today.
“I was present when my sister told Elias over the phone that she does not want any money from the Meyers,” said Engelbergh.
“My sister came crying to us after she read the article because she feels her rights as the mother was violated, as the lawyer went on without her consent”.
Tjombe has not reacted or commented.
!Aochamus urged Tjombe to drop the lawsuit or to stop representing her in court because she wants to give the magistrate control of the case and will accept whatever decision is made as long as her daughter is resting peacefully and no longer wants anything to do with the Meyers.
