Caprivi treason trial draws to a close

The proceedings in the Caprivi treason trial, which has dragged on for 14 years, are finally drawing to a close, with final submissions by the legal teams involved. State advocate Taswell July admitted in his submission yesterday that the matter had been taxing. “There were personal demands on each of us and we had to make personal sacrifices,” said July, who was involved in a near fatal accident in the early stages of the trial in the 1990s, during one of his frequent trips from Windhoek to the specially instituted High Court in Grootfontein. He said evidence presented to the court spanned over long periods and the armchair critics did not understand the reasons surrounding some of the trial issues. July said further there has never been a criminal trial of this nature in the history of the country’s justice system, where 132 accused were initially charged with 278 counts, and where 379 State witnesses were called. A total of 43 accused were released in February last year, while more than 20 died in custody due to various ailments. The remaining 66 are appearing for high treason, nine counts of murder and 240 charges of attempted murder. They are alleged to have attempted to secede the then Caprivi from Namibia. Eight people died in an attack by the rebel Caprivi Liberation Army on government installations on August 2, 1999 in Katima Mulilo. The local police station, military base, field force base, border posts and the NBC offices were allegedly targeted in the attack. The State stressed the attacks were pre-planned, targeting strategic places. It said the aim was to use violence to take over the region. It is also alleged that in order to carry out the attacks, the accused received training in Namibia, Angola and Zambia. July said all secessionist meetings took place under the auspices of the DTA in the then Caprivi Region, but added that if the DTA headquarters in Windhoek knew about these gatherings, they would probably not have allowed it. At the meetings a committee was established to inform the people about the secessionist movement. “At the heart of the Caprivi Liberation Army documents was the aim to secede Caprivi from the rest of the country,” July argued. According to the State, Norman Justus, who used to be in charge of the government garage at Katima Mulilo, had started offering assistance to the secessionist movement in 1995, by providing fuel and food. He said a special permit was introduced to prevent people from stealing fuel. July further alleged that the diesel was used by the Caprivi Liberation Army to trade with the then Angolan rebel movement Unita for firearms. WINDHOEK FRED GOEIEMAN