WINDHOEK – The matter in which Deputy Commissioner of Prisons Tuhafeni Hangula is charged with fraud over the authenticity of his school certificate will proceed from March 10 to March 12 this year in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
Magistrate John Sindano postponed the case on Thursday last week. The deputy commissioner faces one count of fraud, one count of theft, a count of forgery, two counts of uttering and a count of receiving stolen property. The charges the deputy commissioner faces stem from allegations that the Standard 10 school certificate he has been using is fake. The state represented by Advocate Erick Moyo wanted a postponement to trace a witness, a certain Amunyela who could not be located since February last year. Moyo informed the court that “it will take time to get the witness.”
“It will take time to get the witness pertaining to the six charges (receiving stolen property). A period of six months will be sufficient, efforts are being made to locate Amunyela,” said the prosecutor. However, Hangula’s defence lawyer Sisa Namandje objected to the postponement. Some of the charges against Hangula date back to 1993.
“The state wants to call a liar, who gave a false address and number,” said Namandje. “The state is using the absence of the witness to secure a postponement. The investigations started in 1993, the state had enough time to investigate the matter,” the defence lawyer said. “Our courts are not efficient,” said the magistrate, adding the state has to be fair to both parties. In the end both the defence and the prosecution agreed to postpone the case until March this year. Hangula was arrested in April last year and is free on bail of N$2 000, which was extended to March.
By Tunomukwathi Asino