Former ombudsman John Walters questions culpable homicide charge in teen soccer tragedy

Former ombudsman John Walters has questioned the rationale behind the police charging a teenager with culpable homicide after a fatal accident while playing soccer.

Walters told The Namibian yesterday that “no prosecutor in his right mind would ever prosecute a person based on the given report.”

This comes after the death of 17-year-old Bradley Waterboer, who was injured during a football match.

The police’s crime investigations coordinator for the //Kharas region, deputy commissioner Nicodemus Mbango, says the death is being treated as a culpable homicide case as they “cannot yet establish intention”.

Mbango says the incident occurred lost Thursday.

Waterboer, a Grade 9 pupil at Lordsville Secondary School at Karasburg, was playing soccer in the streets with friends when the incident occurred.

Reports indicate that during the game he crashed into another player while attempting to block the ball.

It was then that the other player, referred to as “the suspect”, struck Waterboer on the neck with his elbow.

Mbango provided further details, explaining how the collision led to Waterboer becoming weak and losing consciousness.

The “suspect” carried Waterboer to a nearby house, where he was subsequently taken to hospital.

Despite efforts to provide medical care, Waterboer arrived at the hospital in a coma and was later referred to Keetmanshoop State Hospital for specialised treatment.

He died 40km outside of Keetmanshoop, leaving his family, friends and the community in shock.

Mbango has confirmed that the suspect has been identified, but no arrest has been made thus far. He urges the community to stay calm during the investigation.

Walters says this case is an “unfortunate happening” as the boys engaged in a normal soccer game – where one unfortunately met his untimely death.

According to Walters, the death could be result of something else.

“We must wait for the cause of death to determine what the exact cause was. These are unforeseen circumstances and can in no way be regarded as negligent.”

Walters says he sympathises with the family and expresses his condolences, but he says “there’s no negligence in this case whatsoever”.

Lawyer Nafimane Halweendo says a person can only be charged with culpability if their conduct causes the death of another person and the accused person reasonably foresaw that their conduct could “possibly” cause the death of the other person.

“In this case, it would be premature to make any conclusion because the post mortem has not been carried out to determine what actually caused the boy’s death,” Halweendo says.

He says the exact nature of the assault that led to the boy collapsing must also be determined through witnesses to determine whether it was done intentionally or by accident.

“Only once these facts are determined will one be able to decide with certainty whether or not to charge the other boy with culpable homicide.”

The family of the deceased could not be reached for comment.