Iuze Mukube
Lawyer Sisa Namandje on Wednesday slammed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for what he called “premature arrests” in the ongoing Namcor-rot saga, arguing that the arrests were unnecessary and did not meet the legal standard for detention.
Namandje argued that the ACC has no case whatsoever against his clients, adding that the arrests were not based on grounds such as risk of absconding, interference with investigations, and being a danger to society.
The arrests, he stated, were an abuse of power by the ACC done in a rush merely to just “lay hands” on his clients, despite the case not being trial-ready.
He made these remarks while he was cross-examining state witness ACC chief investigator Oberty Inambao.
Namandje is representing Peter, Malakia, Lydia and Austin Elindi in the ongoing Namcor corruption case.
He questioned the motivation behind arresting the individuals implicated in the matter without having a complete docket or evidence to sustain the charges in court.
He argued the prosecution is attempting to try his clients on “half-cooked” charges, stating that by law, one must be properly informed of the charges against them at the time of the arrest and not afterwards.
He added that there must be a valid reason for the premature arrests, unlike what the ACC did, waiting for a specific period just to arrest his clients.
On the fraud allegations against his clients, Namandje emphasised that by law, one must be induced by a material and fraudulent misrepresentation to be held liable.
He argued that it was Namcor that made the commercial offer to Enercon, not the other way around, thus any alleged misrepresentation would have originated from Namcor.
He questioned how the Elindi brothers could be accused of fraud through misrepresentation when they merely accepted a commercial offer.
He challenged the State’s stance that Enercon falsely misrepresented that they were the owners of assets to Namcor, arguing that Mulunga, who was acting on behalf of Namcor at the time, was not misled, as he was the one who made the offer.
During the continuation of the bail yesterday, Namandje argued that Namcor Trading had the right at its discretion to terminate the agreement between Enercon and Namcor Trading by giving one month’s written notice.
However, by way of a letter dated 15 October 2022, the oil company elected to keep the contract going, despite having a law team overseeing the contract.
He added that within that agreement, Enercon had the right to utilise those assets acquired by Namcor, disputing the State’s allegations that Enercon sold assets not belonging to them to Namcor, hence defrauding the oil company.
In disputing that Namcor never enjoyed the benefits of the asset purchase agreement, he pointed out that Enercon never prohibited the oil company from putting up adverts at those fuel stations.
He further accused ACC of coming to court with dirty hands, arguing that during the arrests, the cellphone devices of Lydia Elindi and other accused were taken, which is unlawful, especially as they were confiscated without judicial authority.
Adding on, he put it to Inambao that there was a motive behind the ACC in inviting the media to the house of Immanuel Mulunga upon his arrest, accusing the commission of using the media so that the matter appears to be massive before the public.
The matter continues today in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
Photo: Heather Erdmann