PG charges Judge in the High Court

A CAR accident in Windhoek in late November last year is set to land High Court Judge Elton Hoff in the dock in the same court where he has been presiding over cases for the past eight years.

The Prosecutor General has decided to arraign Judge Hoff in the High Court in Windhoek on a charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, Judge Hoff was informed when he appeared before Magistrate Claudia Claasen in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Judge Hoff will also be facing an alternative to the main charge on which the Prosecutor General has decided to indict him. In the alternative charge he is accused of having driven a car while the concentration of alcohol in his breath was over the legal limit.The charge against Judge Hoff stems from a collision that took place at the intersection of Sam Nujoma Drive and Robert Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek on November 28 last year, it is charged in the indictment that Judge Hoff is set to face. The indictment, which was signed by Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa herself, indicates that Judge Hoff and another driver who was also involved in the collision were actually the innocent parties in that incident. The collision happened when a third driver entered the intersection, where traffic is regulated by traffic lights, when she was not allowed to do so and while the vehicles driven by Judge Hoff and the other driver had the right of way, it is stated in the indictment.When a breathalyser test was done on the Judge, his breath alcohol level was measured at 0,52 milligrams per litre of breath, it is alleged. The legal limit is 0,37 mg per litre of breath.The 53-year-old Judge Hoff was told on Tuesday that he has to make a first pre-trial appearance in the High Court on June 18. He remains free on bail of N$800.Judge Hoff has been a Judge of the High Court of Namibia since March 2001. He has been shouldering an exceptionally heavy responsibility for the past almost six years, during which he has been presiding over the marathon Caprivi high treason trial, which has become the largest and longest criminal trial in Namibian legal history.He has continued serving on the High Court bench after he was charged.High Court Judge President Petrus Damaseb said after his first appearance in court at the start of December that Judge Hoff’s status as a Judge would not be affected by the case while it remains pending. Once the case has been finalised a decision would be taken on how to deal with the issue further in the judiciary, the Judge President said, stating that Judge Hoff ‘continues to enjoy my full confidence’ in the meantime.