By Anna Hepeni
Ondiiyala, DEC 31 – When a group of friends were celebrating Christmas Eve in Ondiiyala located in Ondangwa, little did they know that it was to be the last for one of their friends, and that he would not be able to make the transition into the new year that is 2022.
It is alleged that while they were celebrating, a group of men approached them, enquiring as to why they were ‘shouting’ at them. Thereafter a fight ensued and when 28 year old Festus Matheus Nghipondoka tried to play the peacemaker and stop the fight, he was stabbed with a sharp object, later identified as a knife.
Nghipondoka, who was a boxer and trainer at Bulelo Boxing academy, immediately lost consciousness and was later declared dead, his last words: “I think I got stabbed,” according to one of his friends he was making merry with.
Johannes Jonas, who was present at the height of the melee, later handed himself to the police and confessed to have killed Festus. Jonas appeared in the Ondangwa magistrate court on 29 December and was denied bail meaning that he will see the New Year’s fireworks from behind bars. His case was postponed to the 02 June 2022.
Nghipondoka is survived by his two young daughters.
The next of kin has been informed and police investigations continue. – annahepeni@gmail.com
