The cross-examination of the prosecution's first witness in the trial
of Munyama (53) and a co-accused, Engelbrecht Theodor (43), was
supposed to start before Judge Kato van Niekerk in the High Court in
Windhoek on Friday.
Instead defence counsel Herman Oosthuizen announced that his mandate to represent Munyama had been terminated.
Oosthuizen's departure stopped the trial in its tracks.
Munyama and Theodor are scheduled to return to court today to inform
Judge Van Niekerk whether a defence lawyer had been found to take
Oosthuizen's place, and for the court to be told whether the trial
would be able to proceed.
The trial got off to a sticky start last week, after Oosthuizen and
Theodor's defence counsel, Gerson Hinda, twice tried and failed to
stave off the start of the trial so that Munyama and Theodor could
first launch an attack on the constitutionality of two sections of the
Criminal Procedure Act.
The same parts of the Act are already facing a constitutional challenge
in two other fraud cases that are pending in the High Court.
After Judge Van Niekerk turned down a request from the defence lawyers
for the trial to be suspended until a ruling on the constitutionality
of the Act had been made, Munyama and Theodor on Tuesday last week both
pleaded not guilty to all of the charges that they are facing. They did
not give any plea explanation or indication of the basis of their
defence to the charges.
It was expected that an indication of their defence was to start
emerging during the cross-examination of the prosecution's first
witness in the trial, Jakes Jacobs, who was the NBC's Internal Audit
Manager at the time that the alleged crimes the two charged men are
accused of are claimed to have taken place.
Munyama has pleaded not guilty to a count of fraud, alternatively theft
of N$345 995,88, and forgery and uttering. Theodor has pleaded not
guilty to a charge of fraud, alternatively theft of N$244 750, as well
as two additional alternative counts of theft by false pretences.
The prosecution, which is represented by State advocate Ed Marondedze,
is alleging that Munyama used a forged extract of an NBC Board
resolution to open an NBC bank account with Standard Bank Namibia in
May 2005. After opening the account, on which he is claimed to have had
the sole signing powers, Munyama allegedly deposited money that was
actually due to the NBC into the account.
It is charged that he deposited a total of N$345 995,88 into the account.
The prosecution is further alleging that Munyama subsequently withdrew
the money from the account for his personal use, and that two cheques
were also drawn on the account in the name of Khomas Engineering CC, a
close corporation in which Theodor had an interest. It is alleged that
a total of N$244 750 that was paid into a bank account of Khomas
Engineering during July 2005 through cheques drawn on the NBC account
was later withdrawn by Theodor for his and Munyama's use.
Both men are free on bail. Munyama was arrested in late November 2005 and Theodor in November 2007.
National News
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