Supreme Court orders treason retrial Submitted by NamibianSun101 on Tue, 2013-07-16 07:59 FACING RETRIAL: Some of the treason trial accused who will be retried by the High Court after a Supreme Court ruling yesterday. PHOTO: FILE WINDHOEKFRED GOEIEMAN The Supreme Court has ordered the retrial of 10 men convicted in 2007 for high treason after a failed attempt to secede the Caprivi Region from Namibia in 1999. They appealed their conviction on the grounds that the High Court had been biased against them and that the judge should have recused himself from the matter. For much of their trial the ten accused were not present in court after they had repeatedly told the late Judge John Manyarara, who presided over the case, that they considered themselves to be Caprivians and not Namibians. They further told him that they did not acknowledge the jurisdiction of a Namibian court. Manyarara ruled that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter. The accused were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to 32 years in July 2007. Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the 2007 trial must be nullified and that the matter be resubmitted to the High Court for a retrial. The Registrar of the High Court was directed to put the matter on the court roll by no later than August 1, 2013 and the accused will remain in custody. They are Progress Kenyoka Munuma, Shine Samulandela Samulandela, Makendano Manuel Manepelo, Alex Sinjabata Mushakwa, Diamond Samunzala Salufu, Frederick Ntambilwa Isaka, Hoster Simasiku Ntombo, Boster Mubuyeata Samuele, John Mazila Tembwe and Alex Mafwila Liswani. They were deported to Namibia by Botswana authorities during September and December 2002. They were arrested when they set foot in Namibia and charged with high treason, sedition, public violence and three charges of illegal possession of arms and ammunition. It was alleged that they were involved in the 1999 attack on government installations in Katima Mulilo in which several people died. Yesterday the Supreme Court said in its ruling that it was satisfied that Manyarara should have recused himself because when he ruled on whether the Namibian court had jurisdiction in the matter, he had made a finding about the credibility of the accused. The Supreme Court was of the opinion that the refusal of the judge to recuse himself nullified the continuation of the proceedings and the appeal must therefore succeed. sun.na/justice/supreme-court-orders-treason-retrial.55063
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 08:31:16 +0000
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