Kuisebmond pupils pay tribute to schoolmate

PUPILS and teachers at Kuisebmond Secondary School Walvis Bay were in tears on Tuesday when they bade farewell to a fellow pupil, Jackson Iipinge, who drowned last Friday.

The 17-year old Iipinge, who was a member of the students’ representative council, drowned in a swimming pool at the Moonlight Valley Resort outside Swakopmund.

Iipinge was on a camping tour with his fellow SRC members, who decided to go for a swim. According to fellow pupils, the deceased started disappearing under water as he went in too deep.

Friends who tried to rescue him could unfortunately not get him to the shore on time, and he was declared dead upon arrival at the Swakopmund State hospital.

Pupils and teachers paid tribute to Iipinge with songs and messages of condolence.

“I feel terrible. He was my friend. I was shocked when I heard the news because he was a very nice person. Although he was a member of the students representative council, he was never proud. We sang a song for him today, but everybody is just crying because we cannot believe it,” said fellow learner Laudika Kambalala.

“I saw it on Instagram on Sunday, and I was shocked. We were sad and crying today. He was a nice guy. He was never angry. He was always happy. I’ve known him since I came to this school,” said Fillemon Amwenye.

“The incident was regrettable. We are trying to deal with it. We want to thank fellow SRC members, councillors and everybody else who supported us because we could not handle the news that day. We tried to get him out, but unfortunately, it was just too late. We also feel for his family,” said the headboy of Kuisebmond Secondary school, Joden Kamati.

Kamati remembered the last moments that they spent with Iipinge as a happy memory, adding that he even took videos with the group, dancing and playing around as they were excited about the weekend.

The principal of the school, Sedekia Gottlieb, described the day as a very sad one for both the school, the Walvis Bay community and Namibia as a whole.

“Since he got here in 2015 in Grade 8, he has always shown good manners, leadership and always passed all his grades easily. It is sad. He was a very disciplined boy who never ended up in my office. As you heard from everybody, he was always helpful, happy and kind. Let us all be comforted by Jeremiah 29:11 which says that God knows the plans towards us,” he said.

Members of the pupils’ representative councils from schools around the town also attended the memorial service.

Iipinge will be buried at Oniipa on Saturday.