Iuze Mukube
Another application brought by alleged Fishrot mastermind Sacky Shanghala last week was dismissed as having no grounds to stand on by acting High Court judge Moses Chinhengo. The stay application was to postpone the plea-taking stage to make way for the former justice minister to file a review with the Supreme Court for the lack of jurisdiction issue [special plea] to be addressed.
Asked when this postponement should take place, Shanghala said it should be sine die, which means indefinitely, until he hears from the Supreme Court.
He argued that the court is proceeding on an irregularity, as the onus is on the State to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the court has jurisdiction.
His support came from the Munuma treason trial, where the issue of lack of jurisdiction was addressed on the fact that the accused were extradited from Botswana in an improper way to appear in court in Namibia.
Shanghala requested to be given until Friday this week, and for a postponement of proceedings to make way for the Supreme Court to set aside the irregularities so that the special plea can then be determined.
Most of his co-accused agreed with the postponement request, but not the sine die period, suggesting that the court should determine a fair timeframe, while another accused suggested 19 May 2025, the day on which his defence attorney would be available.
The prosecution, which was represented by Cliff Lutibezi and Ed Marondedze, opposed the application.
Lutibezi argued that the trial had already been delayed enough, and that a postponement at this point was needless, and would jeopardise the interests of justice.
He contended that since there was no objection or challenge to the trial proceedings, it should go forward, and that the special plea matter should be resolved when the accused submits his review or applies. “I have on numerous occasions indicated in various judgements that the plea-taking stage should continue, and I stand on those directives,” stated Judge Chinhengo.
He asserted that his appointment issue had already been submitted to the High Court for decision-making, and that standard litigation would handle the case, unless the accused chose to file the application on urgency. Justice Chinhengo said his appointment to preside over the case was done by the relevant authority, and he will continue to exercise and do his duties until it is set aside, or until it is decided that it is invalid or not, or unconstitutional or not. In addition to finding the sine die to be unreasonable, he concluded that there was no sufficient cause established for the application on any of the grounds Shanghala had given, stating that the facts of the Munuma trial differed from those of the Fishrot trial.
He insisted that the accused, who had been detained for five years, must be tried to determine their guilt or innocence, and that the trial must be held in a fair amount of time. The plea proceedings were completed on Friday, with some of the accused pleading not guilty, while others had objections to the plea, and the judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf. The matter has been postponed to an undetermined date next year for the main trial to continue.