Caprivi 13’s urgent court application set for Friday

LAWYERS representing the 13 Caprivi high treason accused, who were re-arrested on treason charges after the High Court ordered their release, are now set to take an urgent application for their release to court on Friday.

The application in which the 13 are suing Government, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Prosecutor General appears set to be heard by a full bench of the High Court. Judge Annel Silungwe and Acting Judges John Manyarara and Petrus Damaseb were on the bench in the High Court in Windhoek on Friday when the case was postponed for a week.Patrick Kauta, a member of the defence team representing the people accused in the high treason case in the High Court at Grootfontein, appeared in court on behalf of the 13 on Friday.Nixon Marcus, from the Office of the Government Attorney, appeared for Government, which has given notice that it will oppose the application.The two lawyers told the judges they had agreed that the hearing of the application would take place a week later than planned.This was to give Government more time to file affidavits with the court responding to those filed on behalf of the 13.The 13 will ask the court to declare that their re-arrest on charges of high treason, murder and attempted murder on February 25 and their subsequent detention were unlawful.They will also ask the court to order that they should be released immediately and should be allowed to proceed to a destination of their choice.Senior counsel Theo Frank is set to argue their case at the hearing scheduled for Friday.Indications last week were that Government would also instruct counsel – possibly from South Africa – to represent it at the hearing.The 13 had challenged the High Court’s jurisdiction over them in the high treason case in October last year.A hearing on that challenge was concluded on February 23, when Judge Elton Hoff ruled that they were before the court irregularly.He ordered that they be discharged and released.However, the group were re-arrested the same day, while still in the High Court at Grootfontein, on charges of possession of ivory, theft of car keys and assault.These charges were dropped two days later, and the 13 were released from the Grootfontein Police Station for a matter of minutes only before they were again arrested on high treason charges.They have been kept in custody since then.On March 5 they appeared in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court to be told that they had to appear there again on May 7 to hear what the Prosecutor General had decided on their prosecution.The 13 are John Samboma, the alleged commander of the Caprivi Liberation Army which is being accused of having carried out armed attacks on at Katima Mulilo on August 2 1999, his brother, Charles Samboma, and Richard Libano Misuha, Oscar Muyuka Puteho, Richard John Samati, Moses Limbo Mushwena, Thaddeus Siyoka Ndala, Martin Siano Tubaundule, Oscar Nyambe Puteho, Charles Mafenyeho Mushakwa, Fred Maemelo Ziezo, Andreas Mulupa, and Osbert Mwenyi Likanyi.Judge Annel Silungwe and Acting Judges John Manyarara and Petrus Damaseb were on the bench in the High Court in Windhoek on Friday when the case was postponed for a week.Patrick Kauta, a member of the defence team representing the people accused in the high treason case in the High Court at Grootfontein, appeared in court on behalf of the 13 on Friday.Nixon Marcus, from the Office of the Government Attorney, appeared for Government, which has given notice that it will oppose the application.The two lawyers told the judges they had agreed that the hearing of the application would take place a week later than planned.This was to give Government more time to file affidavits with the court responding to those filed on behalf of the 13.The 13 will ask the court to declare that their re-arrest on charges of high treason, murder and attempted murder on February 25 and their subsequent detention were unlawful.They will also ask the court to order that they should be released immediately and should be allowed to proceed to a destination of their choice.Senior counsel Theo Frank is set to argue their case at the hearing scheduled for Friday.Indications last week were that Government would also instruct counsel – possibly from South Africa – to represent it at the hearing.The 13 had challenged the High Court’s jurisdiction over them in the high treason case in October last year.A hearing on that challenge was concluded on February 23, when Judge Elton Hoff ruled that they were before the court irregularly.He ordered that they be discharged and released.However, the group were re-arrested the same day, while still in the High Court at Grootfontein, on charges of possession of ivory, theft of car keys and assault.These charges were dropped two days later, and the 13 were released from the Grootfontein Police Station for a matter of minutes only before they were again arrested on high treason charges.They have been kept in custody since then.On March 5 they appeared in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court to be told that they had to appear there again on May 7 to hear what the Prosecutor General had decided on their prosecution.The 13 are John Samboma, the alleged commander of the Caprivi Liberation Army which is being accused of having carried out armed attacks on at Katima Mulilo on August 2 1999, his brother, Charles Samboma, and Richard Libano Misuha, Oscar Muyuka Puteho, Richard John Samati, Moses Limbo Mushwena, Thaddeus Siyoka Ndala, Martin Siano Tubaundule, Oscar Nyambe Puteho, Charles Mafenyeho Mushakwa, Fred Maemelo Ziezo, Andreas Mulupa, and Osbert Mwenyi Likanyi.