WINDHOEK – The trial of a former president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Namibia (Unam) was postponed again following another delay.

The trial of Joseph Kalimbwe, 25, could not start as scheduled last week as the presiding magistrate was not available, resulting in the court postponing the case for a second time. 

The court had given Kalimbwe an earlier trial date after his defence attorney Robert Xamseb, during previous court proceedings, told the court that Kalimbwe would be leaving the country for further studies. According to him, Kalimbwe will be pursuing further studies in Florida, USA as from August. The student is due to stand trial on charges of fraud, forgery and uttering a forged instrument. The former SRC president was arrested on May 31, 2017 following an incident at Unam‘s main campus.

Kalimbwe’s criminal charges emanate from allegations that he was amongst those that instigated a group of students to attempt a forced entry of the university cafeteria ‘The Grub’ on May 27.  The students allegedly wanted to make use of the cafeteria for study purposes since all other facilities were full to capacity. Consequently, Kalimbwe and two other students were furnished with expulsion letters ordering them to leave the Unam premises.

The State is charging that Kalimbwe, a Zambian national, forged his proof of registration for the 2017 academic year, which he used in enticing the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration to furnish him with a study permit. According to court documents, Kalimbwe was not registered with the university as claimed. As an alleged student at Unam, Kalimbwe was elected as SRC president for the 2017 academic year. 

Kalimbwe, whose is out on bail of N$1 000, has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the charges. According to him, he has been a registered student with the institution since 2013. He was due to register for his master’s degree in public administration for the 2017 academic year, he claimed. 

Kalimbwe is due to make an appearance back in court on November 29.