Four of the seven people previously reported to be awaiting trial in the Keetmanshoop Supreme Court on charges under the Terrorism Act are now known to have been sentenced. SACHARIA NASHANDI, RISTONAKANYALA (34), MARIUS ISAK (24), also known as Marius Melchior, KAREL NAMPALA (26), SOLOMON MBANGO (21), GABRIEL WILLEM (20) and FILEMON NANGOLO (25) were all arrested in April 1976 for their alleged involvement in the "Kalkhugel" and "Okatjiho" murders in December 1975 and February 1976, and were due to appear in court for summary trial on 30 August.
In the event, the accused were convicted separately and on varying charges. On 14 September FILEMON NANGOLO, from Ovamboland, was sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Badenhorst at the close of a two week trial in the Windhoek Supreme Court. He was found guilty on 4 counts of murdering Mrs. Shirley Louw and her 12 year old son Bertus on the farm "Kalkhugel", and Mr. and Mrs. Gerd Walther of the farm "Okatjiho". A fifth charge of theft fell away. Alternate charges under the Terrorism Act had been laid against Nangolo, but did not figure in the final judgement. The accused, who had been paralysed from the waist down in the course of a police shoot-out leading to his arrest in Katutura township in April 1976, appeared in court in a wheelchair. While the trial was in progress, his companion, Kanisius Heneleshi, who had evaded capture by the security forces for a period of more than 4 months, was mortally wounded in a gun battle with police on the outskirts of Windhoek, and subsequently found dead in the veld.
Nangolo told the court that he had teamed up with Heneleshi during an 8 month stay in a guerilla training camp in southern Angola. He had previously earned R21 a month working in an ice-cream factory in Windhoek. In 1974 he had decided to go to Zambia, where he had heard that wages and conditions were much better.
In October, Mr. Justice Badenhorst turned down an application from Nangolo for leave to appeal against sentence and judgement.
On 30 September KAREL NAMPALA and GABRIEL WILLEM were each sentenced before the Windhoek Supreme Court to 7 years imprisonment, 3 years suspended in each case, on conviction of housebreaking with intent to steal and robbery - offences which they were alleged to have committed in the company of Heneleshi and Nangolo. Solomon Mbango, who was also alleged to have been involved, gave evidence for the State. During the trial, Nampala stated that he had been repeatedly tortured over the 4 days following his arrest, to force him to give information to the police. In addition to being electrically shocked with a machine which he described as "small" and having "two leads", he had been shackled to a broom handle placed between his legs while an inner tube was used to stifle his breathing. Policemen kicked and beat him in turns, calling him a "terrorist". He had eventually been unable to stand any more and had given the police a statement.
On 14 October, MARIUS ISAK was found guilty under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act of aiding and abetting Nangolo and Heneleshi, and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.
