A number of people have been brought before the Regional Court in Ondangwa, on charges under the Terrorism Act. From descriptions of trial proceedings reported in the press, it seems that at least some of them may have been captured and brought back from Angola during the SADF raids at the beginning of May.
On 2 August, NAKALI SHILENGELUA, from Ovamboland, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on conviction of two charges of "encouraging or inciting civilians to undergo training in insurgency". Shilengelua, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment on the first charge and 5 on the second, the two sentences to run concurrently.
The Regional Court heard evidence from Samuel Andreas, described as a trained guerilla who had been wounded and captured in a skirmish with South Africa troops. He told the court that he had been "kidnapped" in 1976 and taken to the Kassinga base, where he had received training in the use of various firearms. A second witness, Junias Namubula, allegedly one of those taken over the border by the accused, said that he had been shown how to get to the "Vietnam" base in southern Angola and that he had later witnessed "the utter destruction of this base by the South African Defence Force" during raids into Angola at the beginning of May 1978.
Another Ovambo, ANDJENGO KAPULO, was subsequently sentenced to 8 years imprisonment by the Ondangwa Regional Court, on a charge of participating in terrorist activities. Six other men were reportedly due to appear before the Regional Court on similar charges on 21 August.
SACHARIUS ALFEUS, convicted in the Windhoek Supreme Court under the Terrorism Act on 24 May 1978, has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.
A charge under the Terrorism Act against SHATUKA SHIIMI, a 32 year old Ovambo, was withdrawn by the State on 10 August. Shiimi, who appeared in court in Windhoek, had been charged with aiding Abel Ipinge and Naanga Shaningwa to get training outside the Republic of South Africa.
