New charges brought in Namibia against SA pilots

[iolsa]

Cape Town - The Namibian police have brought fresh charges against the 12 South African pilots who were arrested in northern Namibia on Saturday, but had their case thrown out by the Oshakati court early on Sunday.

On Monday the pilots were charged with violating Namibian airspace and illegal entry into the country.

Police spokesman deputy commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi said on Monday that the pilots had been charged under section 19 of the Civil Aviation Act of 1962.

“These are new charges. In the first court case there were loopholes in one of the affidavits by the Civil Aviation Authority and it was declared null and void by the court and they were released. So now there are new charges. The men are not in custody. The case will be heard maybe tonight or early tomorrow and we hope the whole issue will be resolved,” Kanguatjivi said.

The men, one from Margate and the rest from Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown and East London, were on a trip in 12 light aircraft across Botswana and Namibia with eight passengers. It was partly a holiday and partly to raise awareness and funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa). One of their group, who has prostate cancer, was too ill to fly but has accompanied the group with his daughter by road. It was because of him that the group had decided to raise funds for Cansa.

Asked what penalties the pilots faced if convicted, Kanguatjivi said he was not qualified to say.

“That rests with the courts. I am not expecting the worst. There are no hostilities between our countries.”

One of the pilots, Ron Weissenberg of Grahamstown, said late on Monday that they had not formally been charged yet, so were still unaware of the charges they faced.

“Our entry was not illegal. We understand there might have been some misdemeanour,” he said.

The group got their papers prior to the trip from the Namibian Microlight Association, as many of the aircraft were light enough to be classed as microlights. They believed they had the necessary documentation.

However, it appears the documents did not include permits to overfly the country or to land.

Cape Times



IOLSA

[Folami David]

What will happen should just happen. No sinner must go unpunished. Whoever commits any crime whatsoever must face the wrath of the law.