Court rejects Caprivi 8's special plea
The allegations by eight men, currently on trial for treason, that the former Eastern Caprivi Zipfel, now Zambezi Region, is not part of Namibia is a challenge against the constitution and as such, it is incompetent, invalid and a nullity.
High Court Judge Petrus Unengu made this finding and rejected the special plea of the eight men accused of high treason, sedition, public violence, and the illegal importation, supply or possession of firearms and ammunition.
The State alleges that during the period from September 1998 to December 2003, they had been involved in a plot to overthrow the Namibian government in the then Caprivi Region, and to secede the region from Namibia.
“This court has the jurisdiction to try the accused for the offences listed in the indictment and the prosecutor-general has a title to prosecute the eight accused with the offences against them listed in the indictment,” Unengu ordered.
He stated there is no doubt in his mind, considering the oral evidence supported by documentary evidence handed in as exhibits, among others an official United Nations map, that the State had managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Zambezi Region forms part of the national territory of Namibia as defined in Article 1(4) of the Namibian constitution.
“This grants this court the territorial jurisdiction and the prosecutor-general a competent title to prosecute the accused with the offences listed in the indictment,” Unengu emphasized.
The accused are Progress Munuma (57), Shine Samulandela (52), Manuel Makendano (66), Alex Mushakwa (55), Diamond Salufu (57), Frederick Ntambilwa (55), Hoster Ntombo (54), and John Tembwe (50).
The eight claim that the former Caprivi Region was never part of the German and South African colony of South West Africa, and also did not form part of the territory that became an independent Namibia.
Hence they cannot be charged and prosecuted by Namibia's prosecutor-general and put on trial in a Namibian court over crimes alleged to have been committed in an area that is not part of Namibia. They alleged in their plea that the court did not have the jurisdiction to try the offences and alleged that they were abducted in Botswana and unlawfully brought into this jurisdiction by the Namibian police and defence force with the full knowledge of Botswana government.
Unengu further said the special plea was dealt with during the earlier proceedings by the High Court and the Supreme Court and that therefore the accused are barred by the principle that “a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent court and therefore may not be pursued further by the same parties”. He added that this was a repeat of previous proceedings the courts have pronounced themselves upon more than once.
He stated that Phil ya Nangolo, a human rights activist who gave evidence on behalf of the accused on boundaries of Namibia, is not an expert witness with regard to Namibian boundaries.
The eight were arrested between July 2002 and December 2003. They went through a first trial in the High Court between 2005 and 2007, and were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of either 30 or 32 years each in August 2007. The Supreme Court however set aside their convictions in July 2013 and sent their case back to the High Court for a retrial.
FRED GOEIEMAN
High Court Judge Petrus Unengu made this finding and rejected the special plea of the eight men accused of high treason, sedition, public violence, and the illegal importation, supply or possession of firearms and ammunition.
The State alleges that during the period from September 1998 to December 2003, they had been involved in a plot to overthrow the Namibian government in the then Caprivi Region, and to secede the region from Namibia.
“This court has the jurisdiction to try the accused for the offences listed in the indictment and the prosecutor-general has a title to prosecute the eight accused with the offences against them listed in the indictment,” Unengu ordered.
He stated there is no doubt in his mind, considering the oral evidence supported by documentary evidence handed in as exhibits, among others an official United Nations map, that the State had managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Zambezi Region forms part of the national territory of Namibia as defined in Article 1(4) of the Namibian constitution.
“This grants this court the territorial jurisdiction and the prosecutor-general a competent title to prosecute the accused with the offences listed in the indictment,” Unengu emphasized.
The accused are Progress Munuma (57), Shine Samulandela (52), Manuel Makendano (66), Alex Mushakwa (55), Diamond Salufu (57), Frederick Ntambilwa (55), Hoster Ntombo (54), and John Tembwe (50).
The eight claim that the former Caprivi Region was never part of the German and South African colony of South West Africa, and also did not form part of the territory that became an independent Namibia.
Hence they cannot be charged and prosecuted by Namibia's prosecutor-general and put on trial in a Namibian court over crimes alleged to have been committed in an area that is not part of Namibia. They alleged in their plea that the court did not have the jurisdiction to try the offences and alleged that they were abducted in Botswana and unlawfully brought into this jurisdiction by the Namibian police and defence force with the full knowledge of Botswana government.
Unengu further said the special plea was dealt with during the earlier proceedings by the High Court and the Supreme Court and that therefore the accused are barred by the principle that “a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent court and therefore may not be pursued further by the same parties”. He added that this was a repeat of previous proceedings the courts have pronounced themselves upon more than once.
He stated that Phil ya Nangolo, a human rights activist who gave evidence on behalf of the accused on boundaries of Namibia, is not an expert witness with regard to Namibian boundaries.
The eight were arrested between July 2002 and December 2003. They went through a first trial in the High Court between 2005 and 2007, and were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of either 30 or 32 years each in August 2007. The Supreme Court however set aside their convictions in July 2013 and sent their case back to the High Court for a retrial.
FRED GOEIEMAN
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article