Zim MP's money woes halt Caprivi appeal

Two Zimbabwean lawyers, Jonathan Samukange and Christopher Dube, employed by the directorate of legal aid, halted court proceedings when they did not appear for their clients, allegedly due to non-payment by the state.Interestingly, Samukange is also the Zanu-PF parliamentarian for Mudzi South in his home country.Dube and Samukange are allegedly paid monthly for their services, unlike other state-sponsored lawyers who are paid per court appearance.Their absence halted the State's application for leave to appeal the acquittals in the Caprivi treason trial.High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg on Monday postponed the matter to a date still to be determined. Deputy legal aid director Prince Daringo told Namibian Sun that he was not allowed to speak to the media.Forty-two of the acquitted treason accused will be back in court after the State applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.State advocate Lourens Campher, in his written grounds of appeal, said the presiding judge, Elton Hoff, now acting judge of the Supreme Court, created at far-reaching precedent at the end of the treason trial. This was said to concern the future admittance of evidence, especially on constitutional issues, such as the right to legal aid before a confession is made.According to him the decision by the High Court to acquit the 42 men on charges of high treason, murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of arms and ammunition will especially bind the lower courts. Campher argued that this issue, with its far-reaching consequences, should be reviewed by the Supreme Court.Judge Christie Liebenberg was assigned to hear the application for leave to appeal after Hoff was appointed as a Supreme Court judge. The August 1999 attacks in Katima Mulilo, orchestrated by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), rocked Namibia and resulted in a state of emergency being declared in the then Caprivi Region.The trial started in a specially constituted court at the Grootfontein prison with 122 accused in August 2004.They were charged with high treason, murder, sedition and many other offences, eventually facing over 270 counts of criminal conduct.Of the 122 men who went on trial before Judge Hoff at the end of October 2003, 44 were eventually discharged by the High Court after the prosecution closed its case, and during a Rule 174 ruling in February 2013, and a subsequent one in August 2012. Twenty-two accused have died since their arrest.Thereafter, 35 accused were found not guilty on the main charge of high treason and related counts, while only 30 accused were found guilty and subsequently sentenced.The same lawyers that represented the defendants in the main trial, instructed by the directorate of legal aid, will represent them during the appeal. The State wants to appeal the acquittal of Fred Ziezo, Richard Mungulike, Phelem Mboozi Mutuwangele and Gilbert Poshowe, who were defended by Christopher Dube. The prosecutor-general's office also wants the Supreme Court to set aside the discharge and acquittal of Calvin Malumo, Joseph Kamwi Kamwi, Herbert Mboozi Mutahane, John Tebiso Masake, Chist Sitale Mushe and Kisko Twazmango Sakusheka.The State will also appeal the acquittal of 36 others.FRED GOEIEMAN

Zim MP's money woes halt Caprivi appeal

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Zim MP's money woes halt Caprivi appeal

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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