200 prisoners affected by chickenpox outbreak
Court proceedings have been hampered in recent days due to an outbreak of chickenpox at the Windhoek Central Prison.Approximately 200 affected prisoners in the trial-awaiting section cannot attend court proceedings until further notice, and thus proceedings have been postponed.
According to the Namibian Correctional Service's Commissioner-General Raphael Hamunyela, it is unclear how long the accused will be in quarantine. They are relying on the advice of medical staff to determine when it is safe again for the accused to attend court proceedings, he added. "This is just a precautionary measure in an attempt to control the situation," he told Namibia Media Holdings.
Hamunyela said around 10 prisoners were diagnosed with chickenpox last Thursday.
The source of the outbreak is unknown.
Prominent cases
Although court rolls decrease at the end of the year with fewer cases being heard before the court goes on recess in December, there are two prominent cases that were affected by the outbreak: The trial of a former police officer Ricardo Nestor, who allegedly committed fraud worth N$10 million. He faces 10 charges of fraud, alternatively theft, money laundering and forgery. The other accused who could not attend his court proceedings yesterday is Johann Maree, who faces 75 charges relating to the sexual abuse and rape of numerous underage boys in Windhoek, as well as the production and distribution of pornographic images involving minors on the dark web.
He was arrested in April 2020.
A trial date was set yesterday, with Maree's hearing set to begin on 5 February 2024 - almost four years after his arrest. - [email protected]