New Era No more postponements – judge warns • September 20, 2013 WINDHOEK – Judge Elton Hoff who is presiding in the trial in which 65 accused face treason charges yesterday warned that the matter would no longer be postponed unnecessarily. The judge also informed Ilse Agenbach who is representing 15 of the accused and who brought a jurisdiction challenge this week, to consult with her clients and call them to the stand to testify in their own defence on September 30. If they do not testify, their case will be considered closed, Judge Hoff ruled yesterday. On Monday, defence counsel Agenbach brought an application on behalf of her clients that the court has no jurisdiction in respect of the territory formerly known as the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel. The accused, through their lawyer, also argued that the High Court Act does not apply to that territory and that the High Court thus does not have jurisdiction over the accused. The 15 accused also claim that they were not properly and lawfully arrested and arraigned before the High Court. However, the jurisdiction challenge was thrown out by the judge. The judge also warned that the matter would no longer stand down for postponement and is expected to continue on September 30. After the State closed its case on February 7, 2012, the lawyers for 81 accused secessionists lodged an application for the discharge of their clients since, according to them, there was no evidence against them. According to the law the accused can be discharged at the end of the prosecution’s case if there is no evidence before the court that the accused committed the offences they are charged with. Another 65 defendants remain in custody, among them John Samboma, who is alleged to be the commander of the so-called Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), and former DTA parliamentarian Geoffrey Mwilima. In February this year Judge Elton Hoff discharged 43 individuals who were suspected of being secessionists, saying the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence against them. At the beginning of their trial in the High Court at Grootfontein in October 2003 all of the accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges. They were all said to have played a role in the bloody attacks on the Katima Mulilo police station and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) regional office on August 02, 1999. The men face allegations that they had taken part in a conspiracy to secede the Zambezi Region, formerly known as the Caprivi Region, from Namibia between 1992 and 2002. Deputy Prosecutor-Generals Herman January and Taswald July are representing the State in the protracted trial. The defence lawyers are Patrick Kauta, Greyson Nyoni, George Neves, Clive Kavendjii, Profysen Muluti, Jonathan Samukange, Victor Kachaka, Percy McNally, Hennie Kruger and Ilse Agenbach. By Tunomukwathi Asino
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 17:25:59 +0000
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