Jona Hangula (34), the first and only Namibian ever charged under the country’s anti-terrorism legislation, had three wives and was courting a fourth, according to social media messages retrieved from his devices.

This was revealed in court on Tuesday by Deputy Commissioner Eimo Dumeni Popyeinawa.

 He said he confiscated the devices when he arrested Hangula in Windhoek. 

The messages, extracted from Facebook chats between Hangula and a Filipino woman identified only as Cine, show that he introduced himself as having three wives and one son.

 He expressed his intention to take a fourth wife.

The conversations, laden with Arabic phrases, depict Hangula as a devout Muslim, using the name Jimmy Nuur.

In separate communications with an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent – under a different alias – Hangula proposed the establishment of a training base in the bush in northern Namibia. 

He stated that he only needed ten Mujahideen (Islamist militant fighters) to initiate operations, after which others would follow. 

He also suggested they could seek assistance and training from the Mujahideen in Mozambique. 

Hangula faces 19 charges, including one count of arranging for the retention or control of funds belonging to persons involved in terrorist or proliferation activities.

Additional charges include one count of membership in an organisation involved in such activities, two counts of terrorism and funding terrorist acts, as well as two counts of recruiting individuals to join a terrorist organisation or engage in related activities. 

He also faces a charge of high treason.

In addition, Hangula is charged with 13 counts of unlawfully employing individuals in Namibia in contravention of the Immigration Control Act. 

He denied guilt to all charges when he appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in December last year.

According to the State, Hangula used WhatsApp groups to entice members of the public to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as well as Al-Shabaab. 

He allegedly received US$6.5 million from various unnamed institutions and N$30 million from a single source.

The prosecution further alleges that Hangula conspired to carry out a violent takeover of the Namibian government between 2015 and 2020, to establish an Islamic state. 

It is also claimed that he sought to create a military base in northern Namibia or southern Angola.

The State says Hangula expressed support for known terrorist groups, including ISIS, Boko Haram, ISIS-Mozambique and militant organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. 

He allegedly attempted to recruit for these groups and offered financial support to ISIS sympathisers in camps in Syria, as well as attempting to recruit a suicide bomber.

Hangula is the first person to be charged under Namibia’s Prevention and Combating of Terrorist and Proliferation Activities Act of 2014, which came into force in July of that year. 

He remains in custody.

– rrouth@nepc.com.na