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Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - Web posted at 10:12:25 pm GMT

THE fifth High Court appearance of the 128 Caprivi High treason suspects yesterday ended in the raucous singing of anti-Government songs inside the Grootfontein courtroom
The 128 were told that their case was being postponed yet again, this time to June 13.

Forcing the postponement was the fact that the 128 remain unrepresented - on this occasion because of the wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal on the issue, Judge Elton Hoff was told by Deputy Prosecutor General Lourens Campher.

After a four-day hearing at the end of March, the Supreme Court reserved judgement on Government's appeal against a High Court order that the Director of Legal Aid should provide defence lawyers to those of the 128 who qualify for legal aid.

Only last week the fact that they remain without legal representation caused another skirmish on paper between the prosecution and Tsumeb lawyer Chris van Sittert, who has been appearing pro bono (without payment) on behalf of the suspects.

This was after the State, represented by Campher, sent the accused pre-trial questionnaires asking a wide range of questions on what their pleas would be at their trial and what admissions they would make on each of the 275 charges against them.

The questionnaire included questions on whether, on the first charge of high treason, the accused would admit or deny that he owed allegiance to the state of Namibia, that the Caprivi Region is an integral part of Namibia, that all Caprivians are Namibians, that the accused was a member of the Caprivi Liberation Army and exiled secessionist leader Mishake Muyongo's United Democratic Party.

The questionnaire drew a rebuke from Van Sittert in a letter he sent Campher on Friday to inform him that while the 128 remain unrepresented, these questions would not be answered.

Van Sittert added that the 128 have clearly decided to make use of their right to legal representation.

He stated that in such circumstances "it is unacceptable and highly opportunistic of the Prosecutor General to attempt to snatch such a procedural advantage by requesting unrepresented accused to complete the majority of the questionnaire".

By the time yesterday's court session started, Van Sittert had already laboured for about an hour just to get some 40 of the accused to agree to enter the courtroom in Grootfontein's Omulunga Community Hall.

The group, appearing to be under the direction of alleged secessionist leader John Samboma and a circle of claimed separatist ideologues, had remained outside the courtroom, singing songs extolling the idea of an independent Caprivi, separate from Namibia.

These were interspersed with now-familiar slogans of "Viva Caprivi, Viva Muyongo, Viva UDP", and "Down Swapo, down; Down Nujoma down".

The group was upset by the fact that at their last appearance, Judge Hoff refused to allow them to make political statements in open court.

They were also unhappy that Van Sittert had not distributed these statements afterwards.

It took Van Sittert some three trips out of the courtroom to talk to the group, with him and Campher conferring with the Judge in his chambers inbetween, before they entered the court and the proceedings could start, an hour late.

They ended up being warned by Judge Hoff that the Criminal Procedure Act gave the court the power to postpone the case in their absence if they should refuse to attend the proceedings.

The Judge had hardly left the courtroom-hall when some of the 128 broke out in loud singing - something rarely, if ever, witnessed in the normally subdued, respectful atmosphere of the High Court.

As on previous occasions, Police officers armed with video and still cameras were on hand to record the suspects' every move.

The 128 were told that they are to remain in custody until June 13. By then, most of them will have been in Police detention for more than two years and 10 months.

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