A grootfontein resident facing terrorism, high treason and other charges in the Windhoek High Court has to make a next court appearance in July.
During a pretrial hearing before deputy judge president Shafimana Ueitele yesterday, defence lawyer Wihan Brand asked for the case of terrorism and treason accused Jona Hangula (32) to be postponed to 16 July.
The postponement should give him enough time to acquaint himself with the contents of the police docket on Hangula’s case, get proper instructions from Hangula and prepare replies to a pretrial memorandum of the state, Brand said.
The state’s pretrial memorandum is aimed at gauging Hangula’s responses to the allegations he is facing.
The prosecutor general decided in March this year to arraign Hangula in the High Court on 19 charges, including a count of high treason, a charge of terrorism, a count of funding terrorist activities, two counts of recruiting persons as members of designated organisations or to participate in terrorist activities, and a charge of membership of an organisation involved in terrorist or proliferation activities.
In the charges, it is alleged that Hangula conspired to carry out a violent takeover of the authority of the state in Namibia between 2015 and 2020.
It is alleged that he conspired or attempted to conspire with others to overthrow the Namibian government and establish an Islamic state in the country.
It is also alleged that Hangula conspired to establish a military base in northern Namibia or southern Angola, where he intended to train people and plan future attacks against the Namibian government and population.
The state further alleges that Hangula showed support for designated terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), the Nigerian organisation Boko Haram, Isis in Mozambique and groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, and that he attempted to recruit support for those organisations and encouraged people to join the organisations.
This was allegedly done during the period from 2015 to 2020 on social media platforms on which Hangula expressed radical Muslim views and support for organisations like Isis and Boko Haram, and also support for those organisations in their fights against “unbelievers”.
It is also alleged that Hangula placed radical Muslim propaganda on social media platforms on the internet and “propagated his radicial, violent Muslim views” at mosques in Namibia, resulting in him being reprimanded by some imams at the mosques.
Hangula is further alleged to have declared a willingness to send money to Isis supporters in camps in Syria, and to have attempted to recruit a woman suicide bomber.
In the indictment setting out the charges against Hangula, it is alleged as well: “Accused stated his knowledge in smuggling persons in and out of Namibia.
“Accused stated his plan to buy a piece of property in northern Namibia on the border with Angola, to create a military base, from which to begin a military offensive to turn Namibia into a Muslim state. Accused requested money to create this military base.
“Accused stated his willingness to obtain weapons, especially AK-47s, to realise this goal of turning Namibia into a Muslim state.”
It is also alleged that Hangula “sent numerous amounts of money especially to Muslim countries in a state of conflict”, and received payments from abroad as well while involved in a business that sold charcoal to Arabian countries.
Hangula was arrested in June 2023, and has been held in custody since then.
He denied guilt on 17 charges in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in December last year.
His next pretrial hearing in the High Court is scheduled to take place on 16 July.
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