WINDHOEK – Magistrate Sarel Jacobs will on January 24 2014 make a ruling on whether to acquit three men accused of election fraud.
The three are Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) member Magnus Nangombe, the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) chief systems administrator, Nicodemus Mingelius, and former Elections Director Philemon Kanime. Their hearing continued in the regional court on Wednesday.
The trio face charges of fraud, and made their first court appearance in June 2009, shortly after the management of the ECN brought the fraud charges against them.
Kanime is accused of wrongfully, falsely and with intent defrauding, giving out and pretending to the ECN and or government that Nangombe was on February 6 2008 lawfully and properly registered at Omuthiya for the election.
Nangombe and Mingelius were also charged on the same count. The three all pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Advocate Albert Strydom on Wednesday requested the court to discharge his client Nangombe in terms of section 174, stating an accused can be discharged if there is no strong evidence. Strydom said there was no evidence linking Nangombe to the crime he faces or that he was part of a syndicate to taint elections. The defence lawyer further asked what evidence was before court, adding that the evidence before court was just hearsay.
Defence lawyer Hennie Barnard representing Mingelius and Kanime also wanted his clients discharged. Barnard said that his clients had no charges to answer to.
State Advocate Ed Marondedze replied that he was surprised by the call by the defence lawyers to have their clients discharged. Marondedze maintained that the three had a case to answer.
After hearing arguments, the magistrate then reserved his judgement until January next year.
The State alleges that Kanime and Mingelius got Nangombe fraudulently registered as a voter in the local authority election of Omuthiya during the period between February 06 and 19 2008.
The State further alleges Nangombe failed to register himself as a voter during the normal voters’ registration period from February 04 to 08 2008, and that his name was fraudulently placed on the voters’ roll after the end of the registration period when he was no longer permitted to be registered as a voter.
Nangombe and Mingelius had allegedly forged a voters’ registration application document in Nangombe’s name between February 06 and 19 2008, and used this document to get his name placed on the questionable Omuthiya voters’ roll.
Nangombe was poised to be a candidate for the RDP in the Omuthiya local authority election, until his name was removed from the voters’ roll, and the initial plans to hold the election were scrapped.
The municipal elections were planned for February 29 February, but were called off at the eleventh hour, amidst accusations of inefficiency and questions about political party loyalty.
The elections eventually took place on September 26 2008.
By Tunomukwathi Asino