High Court Acting Judge Moses Chinhengo will rule on an application by Fishrot lightweight Nigel van Wyk for leave to appeal his refusal to recuse himself from the Fishrot matter in the Supreme Court this Friday.
This comes after he heard oral arguments from State advocate Ed Marondedze, who is opposing the application, and Mbanga Siyomunji, who brought the application on behalf of Van Wyk.
Siyomunji argued that in their opinion, the accused believes Justice Chinhengo will not be fair in his assessment of the evidence presented at trial.
He further submitted that the judge had already made up his mind on the guilt of the accused persons, as demonstrated by his conduct when he ordered pleas to be taken, despite remonstrations by the accused persons who are without legal representation.
Siyomunji said legal representation is a pillar of Namibian jurisprudence, and the fact that the judge ignored this very important right is tantamount to bias.
He added that the judge appears nonchalant when it concerns the rights of the accused, and that it seems the judge took the recusal application as a personal affront.
Marondedze, however, argued that the judge has the discretion to order the taking of pleas, and that the grounds advanced by the accused hold no water as they are vague and convoluted.
With regards to Van Wyk speaking on behalf of the other accused, Marondedze said this cannot be allowed, since none of the other accused applied to intervene in the recusal application. The prosecutor said they actively disassociated themselves from the application.
It is Marondedze’s position that the application calls on the court to act on speculation and conjecture. He further said the application must show in what way the court was wrong in its conclusions, which it does not.He continued that the application is premature and puts the cart before the horse, as no prejudice against the accused person has been proven.
He asked the court to dismiss the application with the contempt it deserves. Van Wyk, ex-Cabinet ministers Sackey Shanghala and Bernard Esau, James Hatuikulipi, Tamson Hatuikulipi, Ricardo Gustavo, former Fischor CEO Mike Nghipunya, Otneel Shuudifonya, Phillipus Mwapopi and Pius Mwatelulo are facing charges of corruptly receiving payments of at least N$300 million to give a competitive advantage to Icelandic fishing company Samherji in securing access to horse mackerel quotas in Namibia.
They are facing more than 40 counts, including racketeering, contravening the Anti-Corruption Act, conspiracy, corruptly using an office to receive gratification, fraud, theft and money-laundering, as well as defeating or obstructing the course of justice.