Former judicial officer Walter ‘Rooies’ Mostert will remain in police custody and face trial after his application to put a stop to his continued prosecution was dismissed on Friday by the Windhoek High Court.
Judge Orben Sibeya said Mostert failed to prove that there was indeed an unreasonable delay for his trial to start in the Windhoek Regional Court.
“One gets a sense from the application and for reasons unknown that the applicant is not eager to have the trial commence. But without a doubt, in my view, there is no actionable unreasonable delay in this matter to start the trial as envisaged in Article 12(1)(b) of the constitution,” said Sibeya.
He said at least from May 2022 to 28 April, Mostert bears the blame for causing the delay in his trial to commence for having launched a “meritless application”.
Furthermore, escaping from custody on 5 November 2021 also delayed the commencement of his trial.
On the claim that his arrest and continued detention are unlawful, Sibeya said the only unlawful arrest was the one that took place on 24 March 2022 at Noordoewer, as it was executed with a warrant of arrest that was not signed by a magistrate.
So, his detention from 24 to 29 March was unlawful, said Sibeya.
He said that is why the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on 29 March struck the matter from the court’s roll and ordered Mostert’s release from custody.
However, his rearrest shortly thereafter on the charge of escaping from lawful custody still stands, as he did not challenge it.
Mostert took the prosecutor general to court, seeking an order that will permanently put an end to his prosecution.
He further wanted the court to declare his arrest and continue detention at the Windhoek Correctional Services unlawful. Thus, he must be released.
According to his affidavit, Mostert claims his case has been clouded with irregularities from the onset in September 2015. In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has failed to properly investigate his case.
He further claims the ACC investigating officer entrapped him by furnishing them with a self-implicating statement. He was allegedly made to believe he was a witness.
Since his re-arrest on 25 March 2022, Mostert has been adamant that his arrest and continued detention are unlawful.
During his re-arrest, law enforcement officers allegedly refused him the right to engage with his lawyer. Mostert has since claimed his first arrest in May 2021 was illegal, as a magistrate did not sign his warrant of arrest as required by law. Thus, anything that the authorities carried out after that is illegal and of no effect.
The former judicial officer argued the same before magistrate Ivan Gawanab earlier this year when he made his first appearance for escaping from lawful custody on 5 November 2021.
That case was struck from the roll after the State admitted the warrant of arrest was not authenticated by a magistrate.
The court further ordered his release. However, before Mostert could walk free; he was presented with a second warrant of arrest.
He then made an appearance again in the same court on charges under the Anti-Corruption Act and the Immigration Control Act, money laundering, extortion, fraud and attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice.
The State is alleging the charges emanate from a period between 2012 and 2013 when Mostert worked in cahoots with his co-accused by assisting a South African family to obtain Namibian identity documents illegally.
He allegedly furnished the ministry of home affairs with false documents that members of that family and their parents had been born at Usakos.
In 2013, Mostert extorted N$90 000 from one Kosie Pieterse when he informed him that his family member was arrested for overstaying in Namibia after the visa had expired, alleges the prosecution.
The prosecution is further alleging that Mostert fraudulently obtained another N$250 000 from Pieterse.
He allegedly told Pieterse that the money would help with his application to acquire Namibian permanent residence.
He is charged alongside Joyline Kambatuku, Eveline Meroro and Joram Salomo.
Mostert, who is now representing himself, has since denied the allegation, citing that the N$250 000 in question was intended for a meat business that he and Pieterse wanted to venture into by exporting mutton to Bloemfontein, South Africa.
– mamakali@nepc.com.na
Caption(Mostert): Awaiting trial… Fraud accused Walter ‘Rooies’ Mostert.
Photo: Contributed