High Court overturns Rossing’s uranium theft conviction

A FORMER Rössing Uranium employee’s conviction on a charge of possession of uranium has been overturned on appeal in the High Court in Windhoek.

The conviction and sentence of Gerhard Karihab were set aside on the back of a finding by Judges Alfred Siboleka and Naomi Shivute that it had not been proven that the material found in Karihab’s garage at Swakopmund in November 2004 had been the same material which was later tested and found to be uranium.The judges’ appeal judgement was delivered on Thursday last week.Karihab was arrested after Police officers, who were acting on a tip-off, found 21,34 kilograms of alleged uranium powder and five litres of a liquid alleged to contain uranium in the garage of his house at Swakopmund on November 25 2004.At that stage Karihab was still employed with Rössing Uranium.The material was valued at about N$5 470.Karihab was charged with counts of possession of uranium, which is a contravention of the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act, and theft of uranium.At the end of his trial in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court he was found guilty of possession of uranium, and on November 26 2007 he was sentenced to pay a fine of N$5 000 or serve a prison term of 12 months.The trial magistrate heard that four plastic bags containing a dark green powder and a five-litre container containing a yellow liquid solution were found in Karihab’s garage. This material was confiscated by the Police and later taken to be analysed, and it was found that it contained uranium, the court was told.However, Judge Siboleka points out in the appeal judgement, no evidence was placed before the magistrate to establish a proper link between the material confiscated at Karihab’s garage and the material which was later tested and found to contain uranium.No evidence was placed before the trial court on a number of important issues, such as who transported the material from Karihab’s garage to the Swakopmund Police Station, whether the material was recorded in a Police register, whether it was sealed and marked in Karihab’s presence, where it was stored, who transported it to the place where it was tested, and in what condition the material was when it was handed over for testing, Judge Siboleka said.’In the absence of such evidence a reasonable possibility exists that the stuff could have been tampered with or even substituted for something else,’ the judge remarked.Karihab was represented by defence lawyer Ephraim Kasuto with the hearing of his appeal. Deputy Prosecutor General Heidi Jacobs represented the State.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.