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Caprivi 13 shuttled to and fro

Caprivi 13 shuttled to and fro

THE 13 Caprivi high treason accused, who were re-arrested after the High Court discharged them two weeks ago, made a first appearance in the Katima Mulilo Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

Magistrate Petrus Unengu postponed the case to May 7 at the request of Public Prosecutor Pieter Smit, who told the court the postponement was necessary to allow the Prosecutor General to decide on the further prosecution of the group. The 13 were transported to Katima Mulilo from Grootfontein late last week and were again returned to the Grootfontein Prison after their short court appearance on Friday.Sources who attended the proceedings told The Namibian that one of the 13, former primary school principal Martin Siyano Tubaundule, told the Magistrate that it had already been decided that the court did not have jurisdiction to try the group on the high treason charges they had faced before and now faced again.Magistrate Unengu responded that this would be a matter for a higher court than his to decide.The 13 were re-arrested immediately after Judge Elton Hoff ruled, a fortnight ago, that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to try them because they had been brought before the court irregularly.He ruled that legally prescribed procedures, such as extradition arrangements, had not been followed when the 13 were delivered by the Zambian or Botswana authorities to their Namibian counterparts on five separate occasions between August 7 1999 and December 6 2002.They were initially re-arrested on charges of illegal possession of elephant tusks, assault, and theft of car keys.After two days of continued detention, those charges were dropped again and they were released from the Grootfontein Police Station.They had only walked to an adjacent street around the corner from the Police Station when they were again re-arrested and re-charged with unspecified charges of high treason, murder and attempted murder.Defence lawyers who represented the 13 during the hearing that challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court have slammed their re-arrests as illegal.Yesterday, a member of the defence team, Patrick Kauta, told The Namibian that the defence had drawn up court papers for an urgent application against the State this week.They will ask the court to order the State to release the group in compliance with Judge Elton Hoff’s two-week-old order.The 13 were transported to Katima Mulilo from Grootfontein late last week and were again returned to the Grootfontein Prison after their short court appearance on Friday.Sources who attended the proceedings told The Namibian that one of the 13, former primary school principal Martin Siyano Tubaundule, told the Magistrate that it had already been decided that the court did not have jurisdiction to try the group on the high treason charges they had faced before and now faced again.Magistrate Unengu responded that this would be a matter for a higher court than his to decide.The 13 were re-arrested immediately after Judge Elton Hoff ruled, a fortnight ago, that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to try them because they had been brought before the court irregularly.He ruled that legally prescribed procedures, such as extradition arrangements, had not been followed when the 13 were delivered by the Zambian or Botswana authorities to their Namibian counterparts on five separate occasions between August 7 1999 and December 6 2002.They were initially re-arrested on charges of illegal possession of elephant tusks, assault, and theft of car keys.After two days of continued detention, those charges were dropped again and they were released from the Grootfontein Police Station.They had only walked to an adjacent street around the corner from the Police Station when they were again re-arrested and re-charged with unspecified charges of high treason, murder and attempted murder.Defence lawyers who represented the 13 during the hearing that challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court have slammed their re-arrests as illegal.Yesterday, a member of the defence team, Patrick Kauta, told The Namibian that the defence had drawn up court papers for an urgent application against the State this week.They will ask the court to order the State to release the group in compliance with Judge Elton Hoff’s two-week-old order.

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