John Muyamba
Rundu-The trial of army commander Major-General Thomas Hamunyela that was scheduled to take place from Tuesday until today has been withdrawn from the case roll of Rundu Regional Court.
Major-General Hamunyela was supposed to appear before Rundu Regional Court on charges of fraud and corruption and of corruptly using his office or position for gratification, as well as attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.
Officials at Rundu Magistrate’s Court this week, however, could not provide New Era with the reason for the withdrawal of the general’s case.
Hamunyela was charged with the above transgressions after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) finalised its investigation into the allegations levelled against him.
It was alleged that he had used Namibia Defence Force (NDF) property, including a water bowser trailer, tents, blankets and grinder, at the construction site of his home at Sivaradi Village in Kapako Constituency in Kavango West.
In addition, he also allegedly used a soldier to transport equipment and building material to the said homestead.
The ACC investigated the matter and on completion of their investigation, the file was submitted to the prosecutor-general, who decided that the accused should be arraigned in the Rundu Regional Court on the above-mentioned three charges, but for some reason the case was later thrown out.
New Era spoke to ACC director general Paulus Noa about this yesterday. He referred all questions to the prosecutor general’s office for further answers, but the PG could not be reached yesterday.
“I think the right office to ask is the PG’s, because the prosecuting authority is the one that decided to withdraw the matter. I heard it was after the major-general decided to change what he previously said.
“I don’t want to dwell much on it, just ask the PG’s office and they will give you more information as to why it was withdrawn.
“I am not sure if the withdrawal is temporary or not. As you know, ACC is just an investigating agency. We investigate and hand over to the other authority to prosecute.”