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Friday, February 25, 2005 - Web posted at 9:22:17 GMT Ineptitude, failure to the fore in treason trial WERNER MENGES at GROOTFONTEINAN attempt to rekindle an armed struggle to achieve the secession of the Caprivi Region from Namibia fell apart almost as soon as an ill-equipped and badly prepared group of supposed combatants in that cause infiltrated Namibia in April 2001, according to evidence heard in the High Court at Grootfontein this week. |
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Strengthening the image of ineptitude and complete and utter failure that has been growing around the secessionist movement was the testimony of the sixth prosecution witness in the Caprivi high treason trial. With both the fifth and sixth prosecution witnesses completing their testimony this week, it appears that the trial is, after more than 40 days of proceedings, at last picking up speed. The State's seventh witness has now taken his place on the witness stand. On Wednesday, the testimony of the sixth witness, Oliver Mulunga Munyandi, was wrapped up only a day after he started to tell the court of his involvement in the secessionist movement's activities from 1998 to 2001. In stark contrast, the testimony of the second State witness stretched over nine days in September and October last year. Also in contrast to that witness's testimony, Mulunga faced only minimal cross-examination from the nine defence lawyers. Just like the previous four witnesses, the 43-year-old Mulunga is also a possible accomplice of the 120 men standing accused before Judge Elton Hoff. Just like them, Mulunga was warned by the Judge that he might have to answer questions that could incriminate him on all 278 charges against the 120. He was also warned that he was nonetheless obliged to answer those questions - the pay-off being that if he was found to have answered all questions frankly and honestly, the court could discharge him from being prosecuted. Most of Mulunga's evidence turned out to be a repetition of what previous prosecution witnesses had already told Judge Hoff. While it may be only a slight variation on a somewhat familiar theme, it is however important for the prosecution to get this type of corroborative evidence on record. According to Mulunga, he was asked to attend a DTA meeting on October 2 1998. Instead, he soon found himself being driven to the Caprivi Region's Singalamwe area, near the Kwando River north of Kongola, from where he and a group of about 60 people were led by John Samboma - the alleged commander of the secessionist Caprivi Liberation army, and one of the 120 accused before the court - on a journey by foot into Zambia. Mulunga said Samboma had told them that their mission was to get firearms in Angola from Unita, which was still at war with the Angolan government at the time. Samboma apparently got the cold shoulder from Unita on the first attempt. After the whole group had returned to Zambia, Samboma went back into Angola, this time returning with an array of weaponry, including five AK47 rifles, two G3 rifles, two RPG7 rocket launchers and two 60 mm mortar launchers, Mulunga testified. Afterwards the group gathered at a training camp in the Sachona area, then at another camp in the Lyiubu-Lyiubu area, and from there a group of 92 crossed into Botswana to seek refuge on October 27 1998. That was just after a herd of buffaloes had stormed through their camp, sending the camp inhabitants fleeing for safety, and leading to some people escaping from the camp. One of them was Victor Falali, who was subsequently shot dead, Mulunga said. It is alleged that Falali was hunted down and killed by former comrades in the separatist movement. According to Mulunga, the order that a search party should go after Falali and his fellow escapees was given by one Francis Mushandikwe. Importantly for Samboma, he said that Samboma had disagreed with that order. Mushandikwe is not before court. He has left Namibia to seek refuge in exile. Mulunga related that the group of 92 eventually settled at the Dukwe refugee camp in Botswana. It was there that he and six other men in April 2001 received an order from one Mathews Kawana that they should return to Namibia to once again take up arms against the Namibian Government. They were an army without arms, though, and without arms their armed struggle was bound to fail from the outset. They initially hid in the Masokotwane area, some 30 kilometres south of Katima Mulilo, for about a month, doing nothing much more than hiding, Mulunga claimed. Already at Masokotwane, they decided to abandon their initial plan of fighting to secede the Caprivi Region, Mulunga claimed. Thereafter, their main activities were an unending struggle to find food, and eating, sleeping and resting, as they moved around in the region on what was, in defence counsel Greyson Nyoni's words, in essence nothing else than a camping trip. At Masokotwane his group was joined by 10 other men, who had also come from Dukwe. They were still unarmed, Mulunga said. It was only after the group had moved on to the Linyanti area that two of its members, Osbert Likanyi and Ernest Meki, each had an AK47 rifle in his possession. Likanyi is also one of the 120 accused. Meki is reported to have been shot dead in a clash with the Namibia Defence Force at Situnga Island in the Linyanti-Chobe River on November 4 2002. It was while hiding out at Malengalenga in the Linyanti area that he and a colleague, Michael Nuwe - the fourth prosecution witness - were arrested on June 16 2001, Mulunga related. Nuwe had told the court that date was July 16 2001. They were prosecuted only on a charge of having entered Namibia illegally. |
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