The third day of a High Court trial on a N$300 000 defamation claim that Windhoek Mayor Matheus Shikongo has lodged against Hamata, the editor of the free weekly tabloid Informanté, and against the paper's owner, Trustco Group International, and its printers, Free Press Printers, ended on a knife's edge before Judge Louis Muller yesterday.

This was after Hamata found himself being threatened with being imprisoned if he refuses to identify the sources who gave him information on which he based the story that has resulted in Shikongo suing for alleged defamation.

It is the first libel trial against Informanté so far to have gone to trial.

Shikongo's defamation action was prompted by a story that was published under the headline "Fincky aids Broederbond's land cause" in Informanté's edition of September 21 2006.

Shikongo is claiming that the article, written by Hamata, stated things like that he was "connected to a broederbond cartel" and had been involved in "an irregular land deal".

He is also claiming that the story was understood to mean that he was dishonest, abused his position as Mayor of Windhoek, that he neglected his duties to the public, and that he abused his supposed position as a board member of Bank Windhoek.

Shikongo had in fact been a board member of Capricorn Investment Holdings, the holding company of Bank Windhoek, and not of Bank Windhoek itself, as was initially reported in the article.

Trustco, Hamata and Free Press Printers are defending the case that Shikongo has lodged against them.

In a plea filed with the court, they deny that the article was wrongful or defamatory.

They have also claimed that the facts were essentially the truth and were published in the public interest, and that any comment in it was made fairly and reasonably on matters that were in the public interest.

Hamata had been under cross-examination for most of the day by the time that Dr Pieter Henning, SC, one of the lawyers representing Shikongo, told him that he was calling on Hamata to disclose to the court the identity of the four sources on whose information he was claiming to have based his article on.

He was not in a position "to compromise my professional principles", Hamata said.

Henning just kept on applying the pressure.

He told Hamata that he was going to make it very clear to him that he was going to ask for Hamata's committal to prison over his refusal to give the information he was being asked for.

That exchange between Henning and Hamata took place after Hamata had also stated that he was not prepared to make available the transcript of a telephone conversation that he said he had with a Bank Windhoek employee who told him - erroneously, it has turned out - that Shikongo was a director of Bank Windhoek, instead of Capricorn Investment Holdings.

Hamata, Trustco and Free Press Printers had been subpoenaed around January 17 already to make all relevant material - such as notes and recordings - relating to the article that Hamata wrote available to Shikongo and his lawyers, Judge Muller has been informed.

The Judge has also been told that it appears that all phone calls at Trustco's offices are recorded.

A transcript of a phone conversation between Hamata and the Chairperson of the Management Committee of the Windhoek City Council, Dr Bjorn von Finckenstein, which took place before the article was written, was made available only yesterday morning.

Hamata's explanation was that Trustco's information technology experts had only been able to track and retrieve the recording of that conversation and provide this to him the day before.

He however indicated that, despite the subpoena, he would not be willing to hand over a recording or transcript of his conversation with the source who gave him the wrong information about Shikongo's board membership.

He was prepared to comply with the subpoena in general, but he is not prepared to reveal sources, Hamata said.

After Hamata had stated that he was not prepared to identify his sources, the court adjourned to give him an opportunity to consult his lawyer, Kobus Snijmann, SC, and the rest of his legal team.

When the hearing resumed Snijmann told Judge Muller that the issue that the court was confronted with at this stage was an important one, as it might have a direct bearing on the way journalism is practised in Namibia.

He asked the Judge for time to prepare proper arguments on the issue of the subpoena that had not been complied with and on Hamata's insistence to protect his sources.

Henning told the Judge that Hamata has to comply with the subpoena, as that is respect for the legal process.

Hamata is however also refusing to answer questions, and that is not permissible, Henning said.

There is a sanction for that, and that sanction has to be implemented, he said, not however mentioning the threat of prison directly this time.

Judge Muller is expected to be given an indication today about when the trial will be able to proceed.

Henning is being assisted by Esi Schimming-Chase, on instructions from At Slabber of the firm Dr Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Inc.

Snijmann is instructed by Elize Yssel of the firm Engling, Stritter & Partners.

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