RESIDENTS of Onesi, particularly the household of Mr Andreas Ningilenimo in Oshika village in Onesi Constituency are asking about the whereabouts of the meteorite which fell in the mahangu field of Mr Ningilenimo some six years ago.
The villagers are mostly asking why no one has come back to give them a token of appreciation as was promised at the time of the event which took place on the 9th of May 2013. The unusual incident attracted the interest of many people from the region of Omusati, with NBC TV being one of the notable national media institutions which came to record the incident.
Ms Lahya Ningilenimo, the firstborn of Mr Ningilenimo, had woken up early in the morning of 9 May 2013 only to hear a loud sound when something hit the ground in the mahangu field just a short distance away from the homestead.
It came to light that something which looked like a small stone the size of a cellphone had fallen from outer space. This observation consequently attracted the interest of many people including political and traditional leaders of Omusati Region.
“The day was filled with activities of people coming at our house to look at the stone,” Lahya related to Omutumwa. “In the end the stone was taken away by officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy who promised us that we will receive a token of appreciation. But ever since they left, nothing was communicated to us.”
When contacted for comment Ms Vickey do Cabo the Ministry of Mines’ director for mapping and geoinformation said that the Ministry of Mines has not yet received the meteorite. “At this stage we don’t know for sure whether it was a meteorite or not, because we didn’t receive it. It was taken by the police, and we have now made a request for the police to hand it over to us.”
Ms Do Cabo further said that she was not aware as to whether the residents of Onesi or the particular household where the stone had fallen were promised anything. But she said that the community does have the right to decide and ask the government if they want a monument or tourist attraction site to be erected at the place where the meteorite had fallen.
“It is a good thing that you have reminded us about it, because it is quite a long time that has passed. Two months ago we made a formal request for the police to hand over to us the object whatever it is, so that we can then see how we can move forward,” Ms Do Cabo said.
By the end of January 2020 Omutumwa will make inquiries again as to whether the object was finally received by the Ministry of Mines.
Caption: Ms Vickey Do Cabo
