South Africa: Okah’s trial begins 2012

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, National Politics, Niger Delta, Top Stories Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

A South African court yesterday set a tentative trial date in January next year for Henry Okah, the accused mastermind of Nigeria’s deadly Independence Day bomb blasts. Okah, a Nigerian national with permanent residence in South Africa, has been in custody since he was arrested at his Johannesburg home on October 2, 2010, the day after twin car bombs killed 12 people at celebrations in Abuja to mark the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from Britain.

Okah would appear in court again on August 24 while a preliminary trial date of January 30, 2012 was set, Sapa News Agency reported. Magistrate Hein Louw postponed the case for further investigation so that an indictment with further charges could be served on Okah.

Prosecutors in April said they would bring charges against Okah in connection with two explosions on March 15, 2010, in the southern Nigerian city of Warri, a major hub of the country’s oil-rich Delta region.

Okah’s lawyer, Rudi Krause said his client was scheduled to have a back operation on October 14 but complained his client had not seen a doctor since his arrest. “He has still not received medical attention. The requests have simply been ignored by the Department of Correctional Services,” Krause told the court.

Krause further objected to Okah’s solitary confinement at Johannesburg Prison and claimed Okah was prevented from speaking to anyone and sleeping on a “concrete slab with a little foam mattress and his room has no windows.”
Okah apparently asked Krause to prolong Tuesday’s court proceedings so he could see some sunlight. “He literally doesn’t see sunlight,” Krause said.

Prosecutors say Okah is the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a militant group in the Niger Delta region that claimed responsibility for both the Independence Day attacks and the twin car bombs in Warri.

Okah said he had never been the leader of MEND and denied any link to the Independence Day blasts. Krause said Okah intended to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal on the rejection of his bail application.wp_posts