The bereaved family of a 20-year-old man run over by a tractor while scavenging for meat at Ngamiland Abattoirs are still waiting for the police to release his body.
Maun native, Karabo Shangando was killed in a freak accident last Thursday, his desperation for food proving his undoing.
In a short interview with The Voice this week, the dead man’s uncle, 74-year-old White Dikuruu Phithatho, says the family hope to bury their son later this week.
Speaking from the family homestead in Shashe ward, a forlorn Phithatho revealed the police were still to conduct the post mortem.
“Otherwise we would have put him to rest already because the family have accepted the loss and understand it was an accident.”
Remembering what he termed ‘a hard working, law abiding young man’, Phithatho admitted his nephew had a tough existence.
“They usually went to the abattoir to scavenge for meat because these days things are expensive. He was unemployed and could not afford to buy meat from the butchery so he would go there with others to get free relish.”
The family believe the accident happened when Shangando and other meat scavengers jumped on to the trailer in an attempt to grab the freshest cuts from the slaughter house.
“It appears when he was trying to jump in, he stepped on the tyre. When the vehicle moved he fell over and it drove over him, instantly crashing and killing him,” narrated the old man.
Staff members at the abattoir explained that meat taken to be destroyed after being labeled unfit for human consumption by inspectors. The condemned meat includes mainly the insides such as intestines and tripe.
Meanwhile, the police maintain they are still investigating the matter.
Located on the outskirts of Maun, in recent months large crowds from the town and surrounding settlements have flocked to the abattoir to scavenge for carcass remains and renounced meat.
While some forage to feed their families, others allegedly sell their gains to street vendors.
