The two men who were arrested for allegedly trying to bribe one of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigators in the Fishrot scandal abandoned their application to be released on bail yesterday due to “classified developments”.
Lawyers Kalundu Kamwi and Jermaine Muchali told magistrate Ivan Gawanab after the lunch break that they were abandoning the bail application due to certain developments.
New Era has it on good authority the new developments might include a deal with the Office of the Prosecutor General for their testimony against James Hatuikulipi who allegedly instructed one of the men. Jason Iyambo (35) and 47-year-old police reservist Sakaria Kuutondokwa Kokule are charged with counts of corruptly giving gratification as an inducement, a contravention of the Anti-Corruption Act, or alternatively improperly influencing an authorised officer and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
They allegedly offered an ACC investigator money to retrieve two Investec ATM cards belonging to James Hatuikulipi and two ATM cards belonging to Pius Mwatelulo for Omvindi Investments and Otuafika Logistics plus a handwritten letter titled Total Allocation from the office of the ACC.
It is alleged that Iyambo offered the official, Junius Ipinge, N$250 000 for the items in question.
Ipinge, however, went to his superiors at the ACC and reported the bribe.
Iyambo was the second person and Kokule the third to be arrested for allegedly interfering with the investigations after the police and ACC officials arrested Nigel van Wyk for trying to remove evidence from the house of former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, including documents, hard drives, flash drives and ammunition.
Van Wyk was charged with two counts of attempting to defeat the course of justice and unlawful possession of ammunition and remains in custody.
The matter was postponed to today to coincide with the next court appearance of the Fishrot seven, as they are known after suspended Fishcor CEO Mike Nghipunya was added to the list on Tuesday.
Former ministers Bernhard Esau and Shanghala along with James, his nephew and Esau’s son-in-law Tamson Hatuikulipi, Ricardo Gustavo and Mwatelulo were arrested in November last year for allegedly receiving bribes amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars to grant Icelandic fishing company Samherji unfettered access to Namibia’s lucrative horse mackerel resources.
Esau and his five co-accused are charged with corruption, fraud and money laundering in the Fishrot scandal. They have thus far failed in numerous attempts to have the charges against them nullified and remain in custody at the Windhoek Correctional Facility’s section for trial-awaiting inmates.
-rrouth@nepc.com.na