Crime crosses the line in High Court

CRIME crossed into forbidden territory at the High Court in Windhoek yesterday, when it was discovered that a laptop computer had been stolen from the chambers of one of the court’s Judges.

A Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer James Matengu, reported yesterday that Acting Judge Kato van Niekerk discovered early yesterday morning that her office at the court had been broken into. A laptop and personal documents were found to have been stolen from her chambers, and a case of housebreaking and theft had been registered with the Police, Matengu said.Explaining that the matter was still being investigated, Matengu indicated that he could not say how the suspected thief had gained entrance to the court building.High Court Registrar Jan Joubert declined to comment on the matter yesterday, since it is still under investigation.While the High Court building in Windhoek has seen some of the very worst criminals in Namibia passing through it in its more than 40-year existence, Judges’ chambers and the passages leading to them have been parts of the building that have remained strictly off-limits to the crime suspects appearing in the courtrooms of the court complex.Normally court personnel and staff members of the company contracted to transcribe court records are the only people in addition to Judges who are allowed into the restricted-access section of the building.A laptop and personal documents were found to have been stolen from her chambers, and a case of housebreaking and theft had been registered with the Police, Matengu said.Explaining that the matter was still being investigated, Matengu indicated that he could not say how the suspected thief had gained entrance to the court building.High Court Registrar Jan Joubert declined to comment on the matter yesterday, since it is still under investigation.While the High Court building in Windhoek has seen some of the very worst criminals in Namibia passing through it in its more than 40-year existence, Judges’ chambers and the passages leading to them have been parts of the building that have remained strictly off-limits to the crime suspects appearing in the courtrooms of the court complex.Normally court personnel and staff members of the company contracted to transcribe court records are the only people in addition to Judges who are allowed into the restricted-access section of the building.