Two men who were arrested on charges about the alleged illegal export of seal genitals from Namibia in January last year were found not guilty in the Windhoek Regional Court on Friday.
The seal genitals the two accused, Chinese citizens Hou Xuecheng (50) and Zhang Xianming (44), had in their possession at Hosea Kutako International Airport east of Windhoek on 7 January last year were legally bought by Hou, magistrate Leopold Hangalo found in the judgement in which he acquitted both men on all the charges they were facing.
Hangalo also found that Hou and Zhang did not export the seal genitals, as Zhang, who was due to take a flight to Luanda, had not booked in for the flight and his luggage, in which he had the seal genitals, had not been booked in for the flight before he and Hou were arrested either.
The police detained Hou and Zhang prematurely at the airport, Hangalo said.
Hou and Zhang were jointly charged with four counts involving 571 seal bull genitals, weighing 21.7kg and valued at about N$1.16 million.
The charges were disguising the unlawful origin of property, alternatively the acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of unlawful activities, export of controlled wildlife products, export of animal products without a veterinary health certificate, and failure to declare goods to a customs officer.
Zhang also faced an additional charge of assisting a person who obtained the proceeds of unlawful activities by retaining or controlling such proceeds on the person’s behalf. Hou and Zhang denied guilt on all charges.
During their trial, Hou testified that he bought 50kg of seal bull genitals from the Uukumwe Youth Empowerment Consortium for US$50 000 (about N809 877 today).
Uukumwe was given a seal slaughter quota in Namibia, and a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) permit to export seal genitals to China was issued to it in September 2023, the court was informed.
Hou said he had a buyer in China for the seal genitals, which were supposed to be exported in December 2023, but the export did not happen after the buyer failed to pay for the products.
The Cites permit expired in May 2024, the court was also informed.
Hangalo said a Ministry of Environment and Tourism official testified during the trial that it is not unlawful to possess seal genitals that were supposed to be exported.
The seal genitals that were in the possession of Hou and Zhang were not proven to have been the proceeds of unlawful activities, Hangalo found.
He also found that the fact that the two accused did not have a valid permit for the seal genitals in their possession to be exported to Angola did not mean that they lacked the authority to be at the airport or to have the seal products in their possession.
Hou was held in custody for two months after his arrest, and was then granted bail in an amount of N$50 000.
Zhang remained in custody from his arrest until the conclusion of his trial. Defence lawyer Jermaine Muchali represented Hou and Zhang during their trial. Deputy prosecutor general Johannes Kalipi represented the state.
