Court-martial trial for CAF member at CFB Kingston gets underway

Editorial note: This story has been changed to reflect that a maximum sentence for Pte. X. Nonqayi would be 10 years. 

A court martial for a member of the Canadian Armed Forces stationed at CFB Kingston began at the base Wednesday.

Wednesday morning marked the first day of a potentially two-week-long trial for Pte. X Nongqayi.

She is facing four charges pertaining to two separate incidents that occurred between July 6, 2022 and March 2, 2023 around the Canadian Forces base in Kingston.

The private faces one charge of assault with a weapon, two charges of uttering threats and one charge of fighting with a person.

Proceedings began at 9:30 a.m. but were delayed due to one member of the jury revealing they knew one of the witnesses.

After deliberating, the other four members of the jury and the judge decided to excuse that member from their duties.

The prosecution was led by Lt.-Cmdr. Jennifer Besner and Capt. Imran Shaikh, while Capt. Carlos Da Cruz was on the defence.

Nongqayi pleaded not guilty on all four charges.

According to a National Defence spokesperson, if found guilty on all charges, Nongqayi could be facing up to 10 years in prison.