Caprivi treason trial

The Caprivi treason trial is a trial in which the Government of Namibia indicted 132 people for allegedly participating in the Caprivi conflict on the side of the Caprivi Liberation Army during a period between 1992 and 2002. They were charged with high treason, murder, sedition, and many other offences, altogether 278 counts of criminal conduct.

The trial is the longest and largest in the history of Namibia. While it started in 2003, the court case lasted more than 16 years, with High Court judgement being delivered in December 2015, and a Supreme Court challenge being launched in 2016 and still verdict pending.

According to The Namibian newspaper, the High Court judgement sentenced "30 men convicted of high treason, nine counts of murder and 90 charges of attempted murder".^[1] Among those initially tried, the High Court ruling acquitted 79 of the accused.^[2] Meanwhile, 22 others died in custody during the 16-year period between arrests and High Court judgement. Some of the alleged leaders of the sedition attempt were in exile at the time the Caprivi conflict peaked and have not been brought to court.