Ex-principal jailed over exam paper scam

Ex-principal jailed over exam paper scam

ISAAC “Ike” le Roux, the former acting Principal of Augustineum Secondary School in Windhoek who was accused of having leaked Grade 12 examination papers to students in 2002, was convicted and sentenced to an effective three-year prison term on Friday.

Le Roux (44), who has been a teacher for 22 years, was sentenced by Magistrate Elina Nandago in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court after she had found him guilty on both counts he had been charged with and had denied. The charges are one count of unlawful use of property for having removed the Grade 12 exam papers for Biology, Mathematics and Physical Science from the control of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture without the required consent shortly before the final school exams.Having convicted Le Roux on that charge, Magistrate Nandago sentenced him to five years imprisonment, of which three years were suspended for a period of five years on condition that he is not again convicted on the same sort of charge.On the second charge of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, the prosecution alleged that Le Roux had tried to hamper the investigation of the exam paper leaks by trying to encourage an Angolan-born student, who had identified Le Roux as the source of the leaks, to leave Namibia.On this charge he was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment.Magistrate Nandago ordered that the sentences on the two charges should be served consecutively.She added that she would recommend that Le Roux should not be released on parole before he had served out the full three-year term of imprisonment.She remarked that she wanted the sentence that she was imposing on Le Roux to send a loud message to other teachers in Namibia not to make themselves guilty of similar offences.Le Roux’s defence counsel, Johan van Vuuren, indicated after the sentencing that an appeal would be lodged against the conviction and sentence, and that he also planned to return to the court to ask that Le Roux be released on bail pending the appeal.In her judgement, Magistrate Nandago noted that only two witnesses had directly implicated Le Roux on the two charges.Those witnesses were former student Paulo Taukondjele, who insisted in his testimony that during October 2002, Le Roux had provided him with copies of exam papers in return for a payment of N$4 000.On the other charge – that of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice – Taukondjele’s uncle, John Povanhu, was the only witness, the Magistrate pointed out.Povanhu had told the court that when he went to see Le Roux in the latter’s office at the Augustineum on November 1, after his nephew had phoned him to tell him that the exam paper leaks had been discovered and that he and Le Roux were involved, Le Roux had asked him to get Taukondjele to leave the country and had give him N$150 to help cover the costs of Taukondjele’s flight.The Magistrate found both Taukondjele and Povanhu to have been credible witnesses, even though they were the only two witnesses.She rejected Le Roux’s denials of guilt.In evidence delivered for the prosecution before the sentencing, the Ministry of Basic Education’s Director of National Examinations, Cowley van der Merwe, told the court that the exam paper leaks had the potential to cause damage of N$46 million, which was what it would have cost to cancel the final Cambridge exams in countries using that system if the leaks had not been detected and contained fast enough.Due to the leaks, the Grade 12 exam results of 40 school pupils in Namibia who had received leaked papers were declared null and void, with the result that they were left with nothing to show for their last two years in school.The 40 were also banned from sitting again for the same exams for five years, Van der Merwe testified.He explained that the result of the leaks had thus been that forty students had in effect lost seven years in which they could have been furthering their education.Le Roux’s demeanour betrayed no signs of emotion as he listened to the judgement and the sentence being delivered.Sitting in the first row of the public gallery right behind the dock, his wife wept quietly upon hearing that her husband was being sent to prison for three years.The charges are one count of unlawful use of property for having removed the Grade 12 exam papers for Biology, Mathematics and Physical Science from the control of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture without the required consent shortly before the final school exams.Having convicted Le Roux on that charge, Magistrate Nandago sentenced him to five years imprisonment, of which three years were suspended for a period of five years on condition that he is not again convicted on the same sort of charge.On the second charge of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice, the prosecution alleged that Le Roux had tried to hamper the investigation of the exam paper leaks by trying to encourage an Angolan-born student, who had identified Le Roux as the source of the leaks, to leave Namibia.On this charge he was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment.Magistrate Nandago ordered that the sentences on the two charges should be served consecutively.She added that she would recommend that Le Roux should not be released on parole before he had served out the full three-year term of imprisonment.She remarked that she wanted the sentence that she was imposing on Le Roux to send a loud message to other teachers in Namibia not to make themselves guilty of similar offences.Le Roux’s defence counsel, Johan van Vuuren, indicated after the sentencing that an appeal would be lodged against the conviction and sentence, and that he also planned to return to the court to ask that Le Roux be released on bail pending the appeal.In her judgement, Magistrate Nandago noted that only two witnesses had directly implicated Le Roux on the two charges.Those witnesses were former student Paulo Taukondjele, who insisted in his testimony that during October 2002, Le Roux had provided him with copies of exam papers in return for a payment of N$4 000.On the other charge – that of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice – Taukondjele’s uncle, John Povanhu, was the only witness, the Magistrate pointed out.Povanhu had told the court that when he went to see Le Roux in the latter’s office at the Augustineum on November 1, after his nephew had phoned him to tell him that the exam paper leaks had been discovered and that he and Le Roux were involved, Le Roux had asked him to get Taukondjele to leave the country and had give him N$150 to help cover the costs of Taukondjele’s flight.The Magistrate found both Taukondjele and Povanhu to have been credible witnesses, even though they were the only two witnesses.She rejected Le Roux’s denials of guilt.In evidence delivered for the prosecution before the sentencing, the Ministry of Basic Education’s Director of National Examinations, Cowley van der Merwe, told the court that the exam paper leaks had the potential to cause damage of N$46 million, which was what it would have cost to cancel the final Cambridge exams in countries using that system if the leaks had not been detected and contained fast enough.Due to the leaks, the Grade 12 exam results of 40 school pupils in Namibia who had received leaked papers were declared null and void, with the result that they were left with nothing to show for their last two years in school.The 40 were also banned from sitting again for the same exams for five years, Van der Merwe testified.He explained that the result of the leaks had thus been that forty students had in effect lost seven years in which they could have been furthering their education.Le Roux’s demeanour betrayed no signs of emotion as he listened to the judgement and the sentence being delivered.Sitting in the first row of the public gallery right behind the dock, his wife wept quietly upon hearing that her husband was being sent to prison for three years.

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