Lake Ngami Search Called Off

Boniface Keakabetse | Monday January 18, 2016 15:20

The search had attracted interest, with many people gathering at the late to witness it while others discussed it on social networking sites.

A senior police officer in Maun, Superintendent John Kelebeng, said a report had indicated that a man and his girlfriend had paddled a dug-out canoe into the lake but never returned. However, another report came in later to say the initial tip was false.

Kelebeng said police then called off the search that was conducted with airboats and scuba divers between January 6 and 10.

He said government had banned fishing in Lake Ngami for environmental reasons but illegal fishing went on, especially at night to evade law enforcement. Authorities say illegal fishing was rampant at dangerous spot of the lake where game scouts were afraid to go.

Kelebeng said the last case of drowning recorded at the lake was in December last year, involving a man from the Okavango Sub-District and a Namibian refugee from Dukwi. More than 30 people have drowned in Lake Ngami since the Okavango waters filled it in 2007 after it had been dry for decades.