Fishrot trial faces further delay, now set for August

Legal representation remains a stumbling block in the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering trial, which now appears set for a further delay until August.

This was clear during an appearance of the 10 men charged in the trial before acting judge Moses Chinhengo in the High Court on the grounds of Windhoek Correctional Facility yesterday.

During the appearance, defence lawyer Mbanga Siyomunji informed the court that during a meeting in January between the prosecutors involved in the matter, the accused without legal representation, fellow defence lawyer Milton Engelbrecht and High Court registrar Elsie Schickerling, dates in early August were selected for the continuation of the trial.

Siyomunji said the trial cannot continue before then because he and Engelbrecht are engaged in other High Court trials until August.
During the meeting with the registrar, it was agreed that the trial would continue from 4 August.

The trial was initially scheduled to start in October 2023, but began in December 2023, when plea proceedings commenced. After being interrupted by various intervening applications by some of the accused, the plea proceedings resumed in December last year and were concluded on 13 December.

By then, Chinhengo had recorded pleas of not guilty on behalf of all the accused on all of the 42 charges on which they are being prosecuted.

Chinhengo, who has repeatedly said the trial pending before him should proceed to its conclusion, again noted yesterday that the case involves accused who have been in custody for a long time.

Only one of the accused is currently free on bail. Six of the accused, arrested near the end of November 2019, have been held in custody for more than five years.

Chinhengo remarked: “I don’t think that a judicial system can serve the interests of the accused and justice by not commencing a case for a period of five years.”

Addressing Chinhengo, former attorney general and minister of justice Sacky Shanghala, who is one of the accused without legal representation, said: “It’s going into six years in this democratic country.

Coincidentally, just two, three days after the death of the liberator of this country I am still in detention without trial.”

Shanghala continued that “it is now an apt opportunity to release us to go and prepare for trial, now that the trial date is in sight”.

Former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau, who is also without legal representation, told Chinhengo he had reservations about the suggested date of 4 August for the continuation of the trial.

“We have been on remand for the past five plus years, in custody,” Esau said. “I want this trial to start and I want to know what will be my status vis-à-vis the allegations and the evidence.”

Esau told Chinhengo that the state is appealing against a High Court judgement in which it was ordered in July last year that a total amount of about N$3.4 million should be released from his assets, which have been placed under a restraint order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, to enable him to pay his past and expected future legal expenses connected to the Fishrot case.

The state should withdraw his appeal, and he would then be ready for the trial to continue as soon as possible, Esau said.

If the state does not withdraw its appeal, the accused being held in custody should be released, he also said.

Chinhengo responded that the accused are at liberty to apply to be granted bail.

The judge postponed the case to 25 February, for final directions to be given on the continuation of the trial and the next trial date.

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