A second military inquiry into allegations of atrocities and maltreatment of civilians by members of the security forces was announced by the authorities in early May. This followed an earlier inquiry launched in late 1982, which was to investigate similar allegations. The findings of the first inquiry had not been made public by the end of May (FOCUS 46 p.2).
The second investigation, headed by Brigadier de Wet Roos, was completed within a week. Its findings largely vindicated the security forces and absolved the military and police from any responsibility for brutal or inhuman treatment of detainees. In his report, Brigadier Roos repeated earlier claims that Asser Likuwa's death was an 'accident', and asserted that Likuwa's family and the Kavango administration accepted this version as 'satisfactory'. The deaths of Haingura and Musimba had not been dealt with by the inquiry; they are reportedly being investigated separately by the police.
Referring to allegations of assault made by the three villagers detained on 20 April, Roos admitted that security force members blindfolded detainees during questioning and often resorted to 'manhandling' to obtain admissions from people believed to know about the movement of SWAPO guerillas in their area. He claimed that two of the detainees, Rupasa and Situmbi, told the Board of Inquiry that they were manhandled but were not seriously injured. The third, Gideon Asser Likuwa, allegedly told the inquiry that he had not been physically maltreated. According to Roos, the detainees admitted sighting tracks of guerillas near their homes after initially denying this.
A fourth man, Johannes KASAMBA, a nursing assistant, was also arrested during the military operations in the area. He allegedly admitted having given treatment to a wounded SWAPO combatant the night before his detention. During questioning, he reportedly admitted that nine guerillas had visited a clinic in Kakuhu village where he was working and asked for aid to one who was wounded in the foot (WA 10.5.83).
