Ex-Cabinet minister Sacky Shanghala lodged an application in the High Court to have his, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo’s trial separated from the rest of the Fishrot accused.
He made the announcement yesterday morning when they made a scheduled court appearance in the High Court at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
Windhoek High Court acting judge Moses Chinhengo set this week for the taking of pleas, which was halted after several applications were lodged by the accused, including a recusal application for the judge.
The matter could not continue after it was revealed that Ricardo Gustavo was admitted in hospital with a congestive heart condition.
After State advocate Ed Marondedze applied for a remand to today for further enquiries on the condition of Gustavo, Shanghala informed the court of several applications he lodged. Apart from the separation application,
he also lodged a petition to the Supreme Court on the refusal of Chinhengo to reserve certain questions of law to the Supreme Court.
This includes the question of fair trial, following the judge’s insistence on taking pleas, despite some of the accused being unrepresented and refusing to enter any plea.
Despite the unrepresented accused refusing to plead to the charges read out to them, Chinhengo entered pleas of not guilty on their behalf.
Shanghala further informed the judge that he also lodged an application seeking permission to cite Chinhengo and Judge President Petrus Damaseb in an application he wishes to bring on the validity of Chinhengo’s appointment as an acting judge of the High Court, and him presiding over the matter.
He stated: “I find it difficult to fathom how a person, whose suitability to sit on a trial is questioned, can continue to sit on the trial”.
With regards to the separation application, he said it appears that he is deliberately delaying the trial with his applications, and that it would be in the interest of justice that his trial be separated from the other accused, who are ready to start with their trial.
This ultimately means that the trial will have to stop until these interlocutory issues are sorted out.
Dubbed ‘Fishrot’, the trial involves former Cabinet ministers Bernhard Esau and Shanghala, and several top businessmen.
The accused, Shanghala, Esau, Gustavo, James Hatuikulipi, Pius Mwatelulo, Tamson Hatuikulipi, former Fishcor CEO Mike Nghipunya, Otneel Shuudifonya, Phillipus Mwapopi and Nigel van Wyk, are charged with corruptly receiving payments of at least N$300 million to give a competitive advantage to Icelandic fishing company Samherji in securing access to horse mackerel quotas in Namibia.
They are facing more than 40 counts comprising racketeering, contravening the Anti-Corruption Act, conspiracy, corruptly using an office to receive gratification, fraud, theft and money-laundering, as well as defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
Esau is represented by Florian Beukes, while James, Shanghala and Mwatelulo are representing themselves. Nghipunya, Shuudifonya and Mwapopi are represented by Milton Engelbrecht, Tamson and Van Wyk by Mbanga Siyomunji, and Gustavo indicated that he wants a lawyer of his choice paid for by the State.
The State will be represented by State Advocate Cliff Lutibezi, assisted by Marondedze and Advocate Esekiel Ipinge.
Also on the list of people to be added to the charges is lawyer Marén de Klerk, who is charged as a representative of Celax Investments, which was allegedly used as the conduit to funnel millions of dollars from Fishcor to the bank accounts of the accused.
The State is yet to extradite De Klerk from South Africa, as well as Icelandic nationals Egill Helgi Arnason, Ingvar Juliusson and Helgason Adelsteinn.