Staff Reporter
THE terrorism case of Jona Hangula, who is accused of conspiring to overthrow the Namibian nation state and bring about a new Islamic government ruled by Muslim law in the country between 2015 and 2020, has been postponed to next week after irregularities were pointed out in terms of the translations done from Arabic to English.
The lawyer representing Hangula, Joas Neemwatya, said that he received a bundle of documents translated from Arabic to English on 22 September 2026.
He, however, added that the sworn translator used by the company, Selah Professional Linguistic Services, allegedly used a translator who is only admitted to the Namibian High Court to translate in English and Portuguese languages.
Neemwatya said that if the company, which had been paid about N$500 000, knowingly used a translator who is not duly qualified, it amounts to fraud and misrepresentation.
The prosecutor in the matter, Deputy Prosecutor General Lourens Campher, however, said that the State was unaware of this. The matter was subsequently postponed to 29 September for the State to investigate the matters relating to the sworn translator.
Hangula faces 19 charges, ranging from terrorism funding and recruiting persons to become members of a terrorist organisation to contravening sections of the Namibian Immigration Act, among others.
The State alleges that between 2015 and 2020, Hangula sought to recruit unemployed Namibian youth to join ISIS and Boko Haram, with the intention of overthrowing the Namibian Government to establish a new non-secular state in Namibia ruled by Muslim law.
It is alleged that Hangula used platforms such as WhatsApp to recruit persons to become members of terrorist organisations or participate in proliferation activities.
Photo: File
