Munyama appeals against sentence

THE 10-year prison term for fraud imposed on former Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) boss Gerry Munyama two weeks ago ‘is cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment’.

This is ‘because it is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offence for which it was imposed’, Munyama’s lawyer, Boris Isaacks, charged in an application for leave to appeal.The application was filed at the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.In the two-page document, it is stated that ‘an effective term of imprisonment of ten years is shockingly inappropriate in that it induces a sense of shock when considered against sentences imposed for similar offences in the High Court’.On September, Judge Kato van Niekerk sentenced Munyama to an effective seven-year term behind bars.For fraud, Judge Van Niekerk sentenced Munyama to ten years’ imprisonment of which three years were suspended for five years, on condition that he repaid the embezzled N$100 720 to the NBC by March 31 2011.For forgery, Munyama was sentenced to three years in jail, with this term to be served concurrently with the fraud sentence.According to the application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, Van Niekerk ‘erred in not imposing a shorter sentence coupled with community service plus a further suspended sentence. The sentence imposed is so excessive that no reasonable man would have imposed it.’ When she sent Munyama to jail, Judge Van Niekerk said sentencing employees who defrauded their employers ‘should not only serve as deterrence but also, in a certain sense, as validation of those who choose to be honest and trustworthy’.Motivating the sentence, Judge Van Niekerk said: ‘The sentence of this Court should underscore the value placed by the community on integrity and self-control in the workplace.’ Munyama was convicted of fraud and forgery for having opened a Standard Bank account in 2005, using a forged NBC board resolution.He had about N$345 000 paid into this account. Up to date, he has not given any explanation about N$100 720 that was withdrawn from the account.According to Judge Van Niekerk, the fraud Munyama committed ‘was like stealing from the poor or the bankrupt’. She said: ‘It was abundantly clear to the accused that the NBC had been in dire financial circumstance before and during his term of office. He well knew details of the huge bank overdraft held by the corporation and that the latter was benefiting from a massive Cabinet approved bailout plan to attempt to rescue the corporation.’The State is expected to oppose the application for leave to appeal.