Inquest into fatal Botswana shootings concludes

An inquest has heard that no firearms were found near the bodies of the four Namibian fishermen who were shot dead on the Chobe River last year by Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldiers. While the family of the victims and their friends have said they were simply fishermen, prosecutors at the ongoing inquest at the Kasane Magistrate's Court claim the men were poaching. The Nchindo brothers Tommy and Martin Wanyama, and their cousin, Sinvula Munyeme, were killed by soldiers on 5 November last year. The incident has soured relations between the two countries. The Namibian reports that the inquest has concluded with police assistant commissioner Kutlwano Eanya confirming that no firearms or empty cartridges belonging to the victims were found. The victims were accused of firing at the soldiers who retaliated. Another joint search with Namibian police scuba-divers was carried out at the scene on 19 November, which also did not yield any firearms. The search was called off because the area was infested with hippos. The inquest heard that four BDF soldiers fired 32 bullets which killed the Namibian men.