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Thursday, April 25, 2002 - Web posted at 9:15:38 pm GMT

Magistrate faces string of charges

LONG-TIME Magistrate Domingos Chilala, who has been on trial in the High Court on four charges, was told yesterday that the verdict in his case will be delivered on May 24.

Chilala, who has served as a Magistrate in various lower courts throughout Namibia, including at Grootfontein, Rehoboth and Luederitz, remains free on warning while Acting Judge John Manyarara prepares the judgement.

Deputy Prosecutor General Danie Small and defence lawyer Richard Metcalfe yesterday addressed Acting Judge Manyarara on the judgement.

Chilala is charged with malicious damage to property, alternatively with inciting someone to commit an offence, for allegedly having instructed a junior official at the Luederitz Magistrate's Court between July and September 1998 to scratch out his name "Domingos" in his Namibian passport and to substitute it with the name Ukwalali.

On the second charge, which is one of furnishing false information to an immigration officer, it is alleged that on September 8 1998 he told an immigration official who investigated the passport matter that his travel document had been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. This was not true, it is claimed.

He is thirdly charged with attempted murder, alternatively reckless or negligent driving.

It is alleged that he tried to kill a Luederitz resident, Bessly Makaula, by trying to run him over with his motor vehicle at the southern coastal town on November 9 1999.

During the trial it was alleged that Chilala had accused Makaula of interfering with the Magistrate's marriage, and that the alleged incident in which he tried to drive his vehicle into Makaula resulted from this.

Chilala is lastly charged with contravening the Immigration Control Act by allegedly helping a female relative from Angola remain in Namibia from April 1998 to January 2000, after her visitor's entry permit had expired.

Chilala denied all the charges against him.
In their submissions to the court, Metcalfe and Small agreed only on one of the counts - that he could not be convicted of attempted murder, but could be found guilty of reckless or negligent driving.

Metcalfe further argued that his client had to be acquitted on the other charges.

Small asked that Chilala be convicted on the first charge of having damaged his passport, on the charge of giving false information to an immigration officer, and also on the last charge, on which the prosecutor said it had been proven that Chilala helped the relative stay illegally in Namibia at least from June to December 1998.

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