Judgement was reserved at the close of the three day hearing of an appeal by AARON MUSHIMBA (SWAPO National Organiser), HENDRIK SHIKONGO, RAUNA NAMBINGA and ANNA NGAI-HONDJWA. Aaron Mushimba (32) and Hendrik Shikongo (29) were both sentenced to death on 12 May 1976 by the South African Supreme Court at Swakopmund in Namibia, on a main charge that they had "endangered the maintenance of law and order" in Namibia, while Rauna Nambinga (25) and Anna Ngai-hondjwa (23), both nurses from Engela hospital in Ovamboland, were sentenced to 7 and 5 years imprisonment respectively. The case marked the first use of the death penalty under South Africa's Terrorism Act. On 25 June 1976, the Windhoek Supreme Court granted an application by the defence for a special entry to be made on the court records, in the light of evidence of gross irregularity in the conduct of the trial, in particular, the leakage of confidential and privileged information from the offices of the defence lawyers to the Windhoek Security Police.
The appeal was heard on 15, 16 and 17 February 1977 by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein, South Africa, before the Chief Justice Mr. Justice Rumpff, Mr. Justice Hofmeyr and Mr. Justice Kotze. On the first day of the hearing, the defence counsel, Mr. I.A. Maisels QC, Mr. W.E. Cooper SC and Mr. W.G. Thring, argued on the basis of the special entry that the convictions and sentences of all appellants should be set aside. Turning to the separate trials of the four, counsel submitted that Mr. Justice J.J. Strydom, the trial judge, had been "very strongly and unduly influenced", to the disadvantage of the appellants, by the general evidence presented to the court concerning SWAPO and the fact that they were SWAPO members.
On 16 February, the defence drew the Appeal Court's attention to two further special entries on the trial records, granted on 26 August 1976 by Mr. Justice Rumpff on an application by Hendrik Shikongo; namely, that the proceedings were irregular and not according to law in that, firstly, the trial court had refused to carry out an inspection in loco in Ovamboland, and secondly, the trial court had refused to call or recall certain witnesses (Festus Shanika, Sam Shivute, Elizabeth Namunjebo, Thomas Phillipus Nangombe, Paulus Nampala and Constable H.K. le Grange). "Relevant and material" new evidence had thereby not been made available, and Shikongo had been "seriously handicapped" in his defence.
