Caprivi trial delayed again

Over 100 Caprivi treason trialists who have waited more than three years for their case to be heard will have to wait even longer, to give their newly appointed defence team more time to prepare for the case. And in another twist, five of the men - two of them Zambians - awaiting trial for over three years were freed after charges against them were dropped in the Windhoek High Court last Friday. The men, allegedly linked to a group of secessionists, were arrested and charged with high treason, murder, attempted murder and sedition after a series of attacks in Namibia's northern Caprivi region in 1999. Since then at least eight detainees have died in custody. According to the Namibian newspaper, the three nationals had been held in detention since September 1999 and the Zambians since December 1999. The Zambians were redetained immediately after their release on allegations of being illegal immigrants and are expected to be deported. "We have been told that the reason [for the release of the five] is because witnesses against them have died and that the 'circumstances since their arrest changed'," Phil ya Nongoloh, director of the Namibian Society for Human Rights told IRIN on Wednesday. While welcoming the release of the five, ya Nongoloh condemned the continued detention of the remaining men and the ongoing delays in bringing them to trial. "The next logical step for the five people who have been released is to take the government to court over their detention. They lost their jobs, their livelihood, their dignity and their freedom." "[The continued delays are] very frustrating for the detainees and an embarrassment to the Namibian judicial system. People have already died in custody without having their fate determined," he said. "All we wish is that this case is brought to conclusion, or the constitution is enabled to either bring people to court once they are arrested, or to release them. This should be the last postponement - the government must get its act together," ya Nongoloh added. The trial will resume at the Grootfontein High Court on 16 June. The trialists met their legal team for the first time on Tuesday.