WINDHOEK – Acting High Court Judge Marelize du Plessis has ordered the prosecution team in the Fishrot scandal to provide an additional hard copy of disclosure documents to the accused by 15 September 2025.

The ruling followed an application by former justice minister Sakeus Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelula, who are seeking further particulars under Section 87(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The three men face charges of fraud and corruption, along with former fisheries minister Bernhard Esau, Mike Nghipunya, Ricardo Gustavo, Nigel van Wyk, Phillipus Mwapopi and Tamson Hatuikulipi.

The accused were arrested in November 2019 for allegedly accepting bribes from Icelandic fishing company Samherji in exchange for fishing quotas.

In their application, the trio requested, among other things, the bilateral agreement between Namibia, Iceland, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the court dismissed this request. They also sought to compel the state to provide correspondence between the Anti-Corruption Commission and Deloitte, which the prosecution contested.

State Prosecutor Ed Marondedze argued that the existence of the bilateral agreements was not a requirement for the admissibility of evidence obtained internationally.

He further asserted that Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa had made extensive efforts to accommodate the suspects’ disclosure requests, even providing them with a docket unrelated to the state’s case against them. 

Marondedze also noted that some of the requested documents, which were not part of the police docket, had already been shared with the accused. Judge Du Plessis remarked the state had previously made it clear it would not conduct investigations on behalf of the suspects. 

She also pointed out the prosecutor general had provided a detailed pre-trial memorandum, to which none of the accused had responded. The case was postponed to 15 September 2025 for a status hearing. – Nampa.