A crowd of relatives and friends of the 43 men who were acquitted in the main Caprivi high treason trial mobbed the former accused with cheers, kisses and embraces when they were released at the main gate of Windhoek Central Prison on Monday night.

For many of the men, who have been in custody since being arrested in August 1999, this was their first taste of freedom in 13 and a half years. Among those who received an ecstatic welcome to life outside prison were Stephen Ntelamo (top, left) and Molisious Simone (top, right). Ntelamo (42) was working as a teacher when his arrest, at the age of 29, threw his life off course. Simone (52) was a lecturer at the Caprivi College of Education before his arrest in August 1999. See more photos on page 6.