NNF FRAUD CHARGES DROPPED Charges of fraud against four officials of the Namibia National Front (NNF) have been dropped following their appearance in the Regional Court on 15 September. The charges against the four - Ms. Nora CHASE, David KASUME, Tjeripo NGARINGOMBE and Reinhard RUKORO - arose from allegations they made in a sworn affidavit and letter sent to the Administrator General about assault and torture of one of their colleagues, Albertus KANGUOTUI, in detention. During an earlier appearance at the Windhoek Magistrate's Court, the four accused had denied that the allegations made by them against the security police were false.
Rukoro has been charged separately with contravening the Police Act in connection with the same allegations. According to the charge sheet, Rukoro is accused of having published 'untrue matters about actions by members of the police force' when he held a press conference on 22 July at which he gave details of the assault on Kanguootui. Rukoro's allegations were rejected by the security policeman who had arrested Kanguootui. The doctor appointed to examine the patient claimed that he did not see any marks or signs of assault. However, in his statement Rukoro said that he had practically shared an office with Kanguootui and knew him well. The statement which he had used at the press conference was based on what Kanguootui had told him when he and the three others had visited him in hospital. Rukoro's trial continues. At the time of writing, Kanguootui was still detained under Proclamation AG9.
Eight Windhoek-based journalists were subpoenaed to appear in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on 5 August in connection with the case. They were asked to give details about the press conference. One of the journalists, Max du Preez of the newpaper Die Beeld, later appeared as a state witness at Rukoro's trial. He stated that he was giving evidence under protest, since it was against professional ethics to give evidence against people on whom he reported.
TWO CHARGED UNDER TERRORISM ACT Two black farm workers, Markus KATEKA (40) and Hendrik KARISEB (45) appeared in the Windhoek Supreme Court on 27 August 1980 on charges under the Terrorism Act. They are charged with participating in guerilla activities in Namibia, alternatively with aiding and abetting guerillas. The State alleges that they took part in an attack on the farm Goabis in the Grootfontein district belonging to J.F. Louw on 17 February 1980. No-one was killed.
The two men are charged with having supplied guerillas with food and accommodation on the farm where they were employed, and with having 'urged, instigated and advised' the guerillas to murder the Louw family and relatives on a neighbouring farm. They were also alleged to have supplied a layout of the farm buildings to the guerillas and acted as guides during the attack. The main charge is that they failed to report the attack and refused to summon help from neighbouring farms. The two men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the court hearing, a witness cross-examined by the defence counsel, Advocate P. Teek, said that he lived in the same room as the accused and had overheard them say that their employer did not pay them enough and that he hit the workers. Asked what language the accused spoke, the witness said they used the Okwanjama dialect. He was asked to count in Okwanjama and to repeat what he had overheard in the same dialect. Advocate Teek pointed out that what he had just said was not in Okwanjama but in Herero. The trial continues.
APPEAL DISMISSED The Appeal Court in Bloemfontein dismissed an appeal by Heikkie SHILILIFA, a teacher, against a five year prison sentence under the Terrorism Act. An earlier appeal by Mr. Shililifa, who was convicted in September 1978 of aiding people to leave Namibia illegally to undergo guerilla training in Angola, had also been dismissed.
OTHER COURT CASES DETAINEE RAPED A 20 year old woman, Karlina JAMBO, alleged that she was raped by a police constable while being held as a political prisoner. Ms. Jambo said that she was being detained in a police cell at Ruacana under Proclamation AG9 when the assault took place on 4 June 1980. Constable Adriaan Ferreira (22) appeared in court on a charge of rape.
AXEL JOHANNES' FATHER SUES POLICE An urgent application was brought before the Windhoek Supreme Court by lawyers acting on behalf of Johannes ASHINKONO, father of SWAPO's Administrative Secretary. In a sworn affidavit submitted at the end of July 1980, Mr. Smuts, acting for a law firm, said he had been instructed to institute legal proceedings against the Minister of Police and the Government of Ovamboland. He submitted claims for compensation for damages resulting from the burning down of Ashinkono's house by members of the security forces. The attack took place on 28 January and security force members forcibly prevented Ashinkono and his family from extinguishing the fire, Smuts said.
However, the necessary forms giving power of attorney to the law firm had not been received in time and the application was removed from the court's roll.
AMNESTY EXTENDED The deadline for the 'amnesty' offered to SWAPO guerillas to return to Namibia has again been extended to February 1981. The 'amnesty offer', first launched in January 1980, has had little response and has already been extended once from 30 April to the end of August 1980.
GENEVA CONVENTIONS IDAF's 10 national committees have been urged to support campaigns in their respective countries for the application by South Africa of the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the laws of war. The Fund's annual conference in September noted, in particular, the need to secure prisoner-of-war status for the combatants of the liberation movements.
In Namibia - as happened in Rhodesia under the Smith regime - captured SWAPO guerillas are treated as common criminals by the SA authorities. SWAPO, on the other hand, made a public statement nearly five years ago to the effect that the 'Namibian Liberation Army must - and does - comply with the laws and customs of war as set out, in particular, in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and South Africa's armed forces are also bound by these conventions'.
STOP PRESS A death sentence has been imposed on M. KATEKA by the Windhoek Supreme Court. H. KARISEB was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Both were found guilty under the Terrorism Act. Leave to appeal was refused. R. RUKORO was found guilty of contravening the Police Act and sentenced on 1 October and sentenced to a R600 fine or six months imprisonment.
