Plea-taking resumes in Fishrot trial after year-long break

Plea proceedings in the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering trial have resumed after a year-long interruption.

The taking of pleas on the 42 charges faced by the 10 individuals accused in the Fishrot case and two companies, 12 close corporations and four trusts represented by the individual accused resumed before acting judge Moses Chinhengo in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility yesterday.

The 42 charges are based on allegations that the accused committed fraud, corruption, racketeering and other offences between December 2011 and November 2019, by helping Icelandic fishing company group Samherji get access to Namibian fishing quotas that were supposed to have been allocated for “governmental objectives”.

Chinhengo yesterday directed that the plea proceedings should continue after one of the accused, former attorney general and justice minister Sacky Shanghala, informed him that he intends to raise a special plea challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

Two of Shanghala’s co-accused, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo, are also claiming that the court cannot deal with their trial.

Their jurisdiction challenge is based on claims that Chinhengo’s appointment as an acting judge of the High Court in April 2023 was unlawful and unconstitutional.

In notices about their jurisdiction challenge that were filed at the High Court yesterday, Shanghala, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo allege the court with Chinhengo as presiding officer “is not ‘an independent, impartial and competent court’ as envisaged under article 12(1)(a) of the Namibian Constitution”, which guarantees the right to a fair trial.

They also claim Chinhengo’s appointment as an acting judge was unlawful and unconstitutional because he was 67 years old when he was appointed, which according to them is older than judges’ normal retirement age of 65.

As a non-Namibian, Chinhengo was also not appointed under a fixed-term contract of employment, which is required by the Constitution, they say as well in the notices of their special pleas.

Shanghala, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo informed Chinhengo in their notices that they have also filed an application in the High Court to have his appointment as an acting judge reviewed and set aside, and that Chinhengo should wait until that case has been decided before he considers their special pleas about the court’s jurisdiction.

However, Chinhengo reminded them he has ordered that the taking of pleas in their trial should proceed. He would not change that decision, he added.

The state put four of the 42 charges to the accused in December last year, before an application for Chinhengo to step down from the matter brought the plea proceedings to a halt.

Chinhengo recorded pleas of not guilty on the four charges, consisting of two counts of racketeering and two counts of money laundering.

Deputy prosecutor general Ed Marondedze put another two charges to the accused yesterday.

The two charges include a count of corruptly using an office or position in a public body to obtain gratification against Shanghala and former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau.

After Shanghala told the judge he is pleading that the court does not have jurisdiction, Chinhengo said he is recording a plea of not guilty.

“I plead not guilty,” Esau said in response to the charge.

The second charge put by Marondedze is a count of conspiring to corruptly use an office or position in a public body to obtain gratification, against Hatuikulipi, Mwatelulo, Ricardo Gustavo, Tamson Hatuikulipi, who is Esau’s son-in-law, and twelve corporate entities and trusts represented by them and Shanghala.

Tamson Hatuikulipi denied guilt on the charge.

After Gustavo said he is unable to plead as he is not represented by a defence lawyer at this stage, Chinhengo recorded a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

James Hatuikulipi, Shanghala and Mwatelulo told the judge they are relying on a plea that the court does not have the jurisdiction to try them.

Chinhengo recorded pleas of not guilty on their behalf, too.

The plea proceedings are due to continue today.