High Court judge defers secret trial application in terrorism case

Staff Reporter

HIGH Court judge Hannelie Prinsloo has deferred providing a judgment on an in-camera application by the State, which sought to have a closed-door court hearing on the trial of Jona Hangula, a 32-year-old Namibian accused of working with terrorist organisations ISIS and Boko Haram, with the aim of allegedly overthrowing the Namibian government to create a new nation-state.

Prinsloo said that the in-camera proceedings, which require court cases to be heard in private without the presence of media or members of the public, will only be heard by the trial judge who will be selected to preside over the Hangula matter. With the matter currently still at the stage of pre-trial proceedings, which deals mostly with case management matters, a judge is yet to be assigned to the case.