By Eveline de Klerk
WALVIS BAY -The suspended chief executive officer of the Omaruru Town Council, Edward Ganaseb, is still behind bars since his arrest on 11 December last year for cattle theft and forgery of a permit.
A prosecutor at the Omaruru Magistrate’s Court confirmed this week that Ganaseb’s bail hearing has not yet taken place.
The bail hearing was initially scheduled for Monday.
The prosecutor told New Era that the bail application hearing is now expected to take place today, but the presiding magistrate was still not in town this week. Ganaseb has spent nearly a month behind bars, capping a year of hardships for the suspended CEO.
Ganaseb’s next court appearance is set for 15 January.
Ganaseb was arrested last month after a tampered permit and a carcass he allegedly smuggled from Okombahe to Walvis Bay were traced back to him by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Namibian Police in the Erongo Region.
He is accused of stealing a cow valued at N$6 000 from a farmer in the Okombahe communal area in Erongo.
The carcass was found in Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay, at the house of the person Ganaseb allegedly sold it to.
The theft is suspected to have taken place last year between August and November but was only reported in December.
Ganaseb faces charges of theft and forgery and or uttering regarding a transport permit.
Police apparently during their patrols found the meat at the house and requested to see the permit that allowed for the transportation of the carcass to Walvis Bay.
However, it was detected that the permit was initially issued for the transportation of sheep but was allegedly tampered with by Ganaseb so that it allowed him to transport the carcass to Walvis Bay.