ALBERT Kawana, the Minister of Presidential Affairs, has called for the law to take its course regarding the possible criminal prosecution of former Namibian Defence Force (NDF) chief Martin Shalli.
In terms of the Namibian Constitution, all suspects remain innocent until proven guilty, Kawana told The Namibian on Thursday. ‘Let’s not try a person through the press. General Shalli is innocent until proven guilty. Trampling on the Constitution is very dangerous.’Kawana did not want to respond on whether Shalli – whom he said is one of his heroes – would be stripped of his retirement privileges if convicted criminally. ‘Let’s not anticipate those questions,’ he replied.In January this year, Shalli was ‘retired’ with full military privileges by President Hifikepunye Pohamba.Kawana then issued a statement, saying that these privileges include retiring with rank, full military regalia that can be donned when attending national events, a diplomatic passport and remaining an NDF reservist.Shalli did not want to comment on his possible prosecution last week. He denied that he had joined any opposition political party. ‘I never joined the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). I became what I became because of Swapo.’Last week, it was reported that the freezing of Shalli’s Zambian bank account was believed to open the door for his criminal prosecution.Should the Prosecutor General (PG), Martha Imalwa, decide to arraign Shalli in court, he will the highest ranking Government official to face the wrath of the law in independent Namibia.In an affidavit that Imalwa filed with the High Court recently, it is stated that ‘there are reasonable grounds to believe’ that Shalli contravened the Anti-Corruption Act.Furthermore, Shalli is likely to face charges of money laundering, because, the PG claims, ‘the circumstances as to how the money he received from Poly Tech (a Chinese company which had a contract to supply military equipment to the NDF) was laundered to Namibia, it is evident of an unlawful origin of the money’.Claims by Shalli that the money he received was rental income for his house are ‘improbable’ because ‘the house is situated in Namibia, but Gen Shalli elected his Zambian bank account to receive the money in’.Moreover, ‘instead of transferring the US$500 000 to his Namibian bank account from his Zambian bank account [Shalli] used other people to launder the money into Namibia’.Shalli allegedly also told a former subordinate, Elsie Ausiku, at the Namibian High Commission in Zambia – where Shalli was the high commissioner – ‘to tell the Police that the money was from a Chinese woman who wanted her assistance in bringing the money to Namibia’.Even if the half a million US$ was for a legitimate lease contract, Shalli was not allowed to enter into this deal as it is also a contravention of the Anti-Corruption Act, the PG charges. ‘If it was not for his visits to China and the visits by Poly Tech to the Ministry of Defence, General Shalli would not have been able to enter into a very lucrative lease agreement.’
