Windhoek High Court acting judge Petrus Unengu yesterday convicted the remaining six Caprivi secessionists on high treason.
The men were accused of trying to secede the then-Caprivi Strip from Namibia in August 1999.
The judge, however, found that the charges of sedition and public violence constituted a duplication of the treason charge, and acquitted them on those charges.
He further found them guilty of contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act by illegally bringing weapons into Namibia.
Five of the accused were also convicted of contravening the Immigration Control Act by illegally leaving and entering Namibia at undesignated border crossings.
The judge found that there is uncontroverted evidence that the accused all partook in activities to secede the then-Caprivi region from Namibia, and that they went to Angola via the western part of Zambia to procure weapons of war, and smuggled them into Namibia to use violence to secede the region from Namibia.
He further said they targeted government entities, such as the Mpacha Army Base and the NBC buildings. Progress Kenyoka Munuma (62), Shine Samulandela (55), Manuel Manepelo Makendano (69), Diamond Samunzala (59), Alex Mushakwa (59), Frederick Isaka Ntambila (57) and John Mazila Tembwe (54) faced charges of high treason, murder, attempted murder, sedition, public violence as well as the illegal importation of weapons and ammunition.
However, the attempted murder and murder charges could not be proven by the State, which they conceded to.
The accused were first convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from 30 to 32 years by late Justice John Manyarara in 2007.
Those convictions and sentences were, however, set aside by the Supreme Court on appeal in July 2013.
The trial was then ordered to start afresh before a new judge.
They have since been in custody following their arrests 21 years ago.
Judge Unengu said there is no evidence before the court that any of the accused were coerced, forced or cheated into taking part in the rebellion.
He further stressed that the accused did not make use of the offer by the Namibian government to be repatriated without adverse consequences, but opted to remain in Botswana, only to later sneak into Namibia with the sole aim of overthrowing the legitimate government.
This, he said, was a conspiracy hatched during meetings disguised as political meetings of the then-Democratic Turnhalle Alliance.
He found that the accused had a duty to report what was happening to the authorities, but they reconciled themselves with the action, and became active role-players.
The judge said he was satisfied that the State managed to prove against all eight accused the crime of high treason, based on conspiracy to commit high treason, beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is apparent from the evidence as a whole that all participated actively in one way or the other in furthering the goal of seceding the eastern Caprivi region from the rest of Namibia.
“Therefore, in achieving that goal, they crossed the borders at undesignated and ungazetted ports of entry into Zambia and Botswana, and back to procure weapons and bring into Namibia various types and ammunition illegally in violation of the provisions of the Arms and Ammunition Act and the Immigration Control Act,” he stated.
He said he was satisfied that the accused were not only poor, unreliable and untrustworthy witnesses, but also dishonest, trying all the tricks in the world to mislead the court.
The accused will return to court on 19 August for presentence proceedings.
They are represented by Ilse Aggenbach and Georg Neves, on instructions from Legal Aid.
The State is represented by Laurence Campher.