COMMUNITY leader Abner Kotokeni says he was going about his daily activities when he came across a male monkey attacking and biting several people at the Goreangab settlement in Windhoek on Friday.

Kotokeni says the monkey bit seven people, including himself.

The monkey also bit a 10-year-old child in the leg, and several dogs.

Kotokeni says the monkey was aggressive and uncontrollable, and it took around 10 people to eventually catch it.

“It took us a while until we caught it and covered it with a large metal bucket,” he says.

He says after they managed to control the monkey, they called the police, who called the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism’s nature conservation officials to the scene.

“The rangers’ first instinct was to put down the monkey, however, they reconsidered this as the monkey seemed to belong to someone as it had a collar around its neck,” Kotokeni says.

“The rangers took the monkey with them, and also transported the injured 10-year-old to the hospital,” Kotokeni says.

“The rest of the people were taken to the hospital for a check-up the following day,” he says.

One of the rangers at the scene says the monkey at first glance did not seem aggressive, but got agitated when getting closer to people and would try to bite them.

“The monkey’s behaviour was unusual as they do not just bite people randomly,” the ranger says.

Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda confirmed the incident, saying the animal was aggressive.

He says the monkey was caught and transported to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

“The monkey was tested for diseases and it was found that it had none,” Muyunda says.

He said the monkey is believed to have been illegally kept as a pet by a residents.

SPCA director of operations Sylvia Breitenstein yesterday said the monkey was put down and tested for rabies, which came back negative.

“It is not allowed to keep monkeys as pets in Namibia,” she said.

She urged communities to call the SPCA when they need assistance with capturing or containing an animal, instead of trying to do it themselves.

“We do not just deal with cats and dogs, we deal with other animals too, and if we cannot help, we will contact someone who can,” she said.