Maria David
THE lawyer of Sindano Hango, the northern businessman convicted of raping his cousin, has blasted the media for being aggressive in reports of his client, saying this has a negative influence on trials.
This comes after Hango’s sentencing was postponed to 31 January 2022.
Magistrate Leopoldt Hangalo on Tuesday said there are still issues to be ironed out.
Hango was to be sentenced on Monday but his defence lawyer, Kadhila Amoomo, asked Hangalo for a delay to allow defence witnesses time to come to court.
Hango’s bail was cancelled last week and he has been in custody ever since.
Amoomo brought a bail pending sentencing application to court on Monday.
He argued that the state brought the case back unfairly and demanded sentencing while the defence have been preparing for it only in January next year.
On Monday, Hangalo granted postponement saying he was not ready to give the ruling then and postponed it to Tuesday, when it was again postponed, this time to the end of January.
He refused to let Hango out on bail due to the seriousness of the case.
Hango was convicted in the Oshakati High Court for raping his cousin in October 2014.
Hangalo had found Hango not guilty in the Oshakati Regional Court in 2019.
However, the state appealed against the verdict, and two judges in the Oshakati High Court set aside the acquittal and substituted it with a conviction on a charge of rape.
The matter was referred back to Hangalo for sentencing.
Deputy prosecutor-general Ruben Shileka and prosecutor Nelao Ya France were both surprised by Amoomo’s request to postpone sentencing, saying the defence had enough time to notify the state for the matter to be postponed but had not made such requests prior.
Ya France also pointed out that the State was forking out money to pay for witnesses, of who some travelled from as far as Windhoek to testify.
Amoomo blasted the media and accused them of interfering with the judiciary process and having an influence on trial cases.
He said the media have been aggressive in reports about his client, adding commentary to their reports which influence the perception instead of stating facts.
“My client is a subject of social media elevated beyond the judgement of the trial because of media reports.
As a matter of fact, this case is sub judice. Some media breached the sub judice. No one has a monopoly over the law,” Amoomo said.
