The trial of Tanzanian national Shaabani Hamidu, who already has two previous convictions on drug-related charges on his criminal record, and a co-accused, fellow Tanzanian Alawi Ali Zambarua, was supposed to start in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Hamidu and Zambarua were arrested in Windhoek on February 14 last year, after Hamidu had allegedly sold five grams of cocaine to a Police informer.

The informer allegedly paid for the drugs with N$1 000 that the Police had provided to him as part of a sting operation aimed at netting Hamidu.

Zambarua was released on bail of N$2 000 on March 14 last year.

Hamidu remained in custody for seven and a half months, until he was eventually granted bail of N$3 000 on October 1, when his case was also postponed for a first time to a date when the trial was supposed to start.

In December the case was again postponed for the supposed start of the trial, to May 12, but that date also came and went with the case only being postponed once more for the trial to start.

On Monday, Public Prosecutor Niklaas de Wee told Magistrate Claudia Claasen that the State was unable to proceed with the trial, because its witnesses were not at court.

A Police officer had told the Prosecutor that none of the witnesses had been subpoenaed to be at court, the Magistrate was also told.

Defence lawyer Sisa Namandje, who represented the two charged men, told the Magistrate that the case had been on the court roll for the trial to start since last year.

He said his clients would be prejudiced if they had to bear further costs because of another postponement of their case.

Magistrate Claasen refused a further postponement, and ordered that the case was struck from the court roll and that Hamidu and Zambarua's bail money should be returned to the people who had paid the bail.

The striking of the case off the court roll means that, if the State manages to get its arrangements for a trial sorted out, it would be able to summon Hamidu and Zambarua to again appear in court to face the same charge.

During a bail application that was brought by Hamidu in March last year the court was told that he has two previous drug-related convictions on his criminal record.

According to the record of his previous convictions that was handed to the court, Hamidu was sentenced to a fine of N$400 or four months' imprisonment in November 1999 after he was convicted of possession of Mandrax.

In early February 2006, he was convicted of possession of cocaine and ecstasy, and sentenced to a fine of N$15 000 or two years' imprisonment, plus a wholly suspended four-year jail term.

Local News Headlines Of The Last 48 Hours

•  Hishongwa hits out at 'newcomers'
•  Doctors to court over dispensing rights
•  Project money missing
•  N$20 000 fine for computer corruption
•  Police kill suspect after 'struggle'
•  Union wants NHE bosses' heads
•  2008 a year of political violence: DTA
•  Gender violence takes centre stage
•  Employers of disabled people awarded
•  Closure of copper mines adds gloom to Nam mining outlook
•  78 Zim farmers win land case
•  Floodgates open over Windhoek
•  Everyone except Swapo to blame for the violence, claims President