Mwilima’s release bid fails

Marc Springer WINDHOEKFormer parliamentarian Geoffrey Mwilima, currently serving an 18-year prison term for high treason, has failed in his attempt to effect an early release on medical grounds.In a judgement delivered yesterday, acting judge Kobus Miller pointed out that medical practitioners who diagnosed and treated Mwilima were not in agreement on whether he was eligible to be released on parole due to illness.He concluded that Mwilima’s application was “entirely misplaced” in that the commissioner general of correctional services had already refused a similar application in 2016.That Mwilima was now trying to compel the Windhoek correctional facility’s medical officer to order his release on medical grounds was asking for a remedy not available to him, the judge said.The medical officer is only authorised to make such a recommendation in cases where an inmate is suffering from a dangerous or contagious disease which would either lead to his own death or put fellow inmates at risk of infection if the offender was not immediately released,Miller said.‘Collapsed’ several timesMwilima had argued that he was suffering from severe diabetes, kidney dysfunction and hypertension which were not properly treated in prison. As a result, he “collapsed” several times in prison and needed to be brought to a private hospital for treatment, he said.On one of those occasions, he had to be treated for three weeks in intensive care and spent a large part of that period in a coma.Mwilima also claimed he was in need of regular dialyses and required a special diet, which was not provided in prison. Further, his family was prohibited from supplying him with the necessary food stuffs.As a result of this “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment”, his condition had drastically deteriorated since his incarceration, leading to an imminent danger to his life, Mwilima said.AppealThe NamRights organisation has already appealed to the United Nations high commission for human rights to support Mwilima’s release. The 66-year-old was allegedly tortured after his arrest on 4 August 1999 and is suing for N$75 million compensation in a separate trial.He is part of a group of 30 separatists who were convicted on charges of high treason, murder and attempted murder and sentenced to prison terms ranging between three and 18 years. The charges relate to an uprising in the former Caprivi (now Zambezi Region) on 2 August 1999 during which installations in and around Katima Mulilo were attacked and several people killed.Mwilima was represented by Profysen Muluti, while Alice Makemba appeared for the respondents.

Mwilima’s release bid fails

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Mwilima’s release bid fails

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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