OSHAKATI – The trial of schoolteacher Immanuel Mutikisha who stands accused of extortion, fraud and money laundering will continue in the Oshakati Regional Court from May 27 – 29.
The dates were set after Magistrate Leopoldt Hangalo shot down the application from Mutikisha and fellow accused Moonsamy Lazarus Jonathan to recuse himself from the matter.
Hangalo indicated in his ruling last Friday that the partiality and biasness alleged by the accused persons in the application to have him step down from the trial is not enough grounds saying it is a tactic to delay the case from going forward.
Hangalo said the trial should have already taken place in 2015.
Mutikisha was arraigned in 2014 alongside Leena Abraham his girlfriend and Jonathan after they orchestrated a plan to have an Ongwediva-based hotel owner pay them N$319 000 for the ‘unfair dismissal and sexual harassment’ of Abraham.
Abraham was previously an employee at the hotel.
The businessman allegedly became suspicious of Mutikisha who impersonated a Ministry of Labour official, and Jonathan who claimed to be a lawyer, when they allegedly demanded N$200 000 upfront with the remaining N$119 000 to be paid in installments.
The businessman alerted the police, which led to their arrest.
Mutikisha has another pending case before court after he violated his bail conditions in the first matter by allegedly bribing the investigator to get rid of the docket claiming his teaching career was at stake since he was likely to get a conviction.
A trap was set and Mutikisha was arrested at the Ongwediva roadblock after paying his first installment of the bribe of N$1 000 under a tree not far from the roadblock.
Mutikisha allegedly promised to pay the investigator a bribe of N$7 000. The state was represented by Nelao ya France.