‘Penniless’ Josea applies for legal aid

ONE of the key figures in the Avid Investment Corporation fraud case, Nico Josea, is in such a financial pinch that he can no longer afford to pay his own lawyers and has applied to be given publicly-funded legal aid for his coming criminal trial in the High Court.

A little over three years ago, close to N$15 million alleged to have belonged to the Social Security Commission passed through Josea’s personal bank account. Except for some N$46 000 that was left in the account by late July 2005, all of this money ended up being spent or given away by Josea within the space of four months.Now, however, with his asset management company, Namangol Investments, having been declared bankrupt by the High Court and Josea still facing a Supreme Court appeal, in which it is attempting to have his personal estate sequestrated as well, Josea has run out of funds to pay for his lawyers himself, and needs to apply to the Directorate of Legal Aid to have his legal representation funded with public money.Judge Collins Parker was informed of Josea’s financial squeeze and its impact on his legal representation, when Josea and six co-accused in the pending criminal case on the alleged embezzlement of a N$30 million investment of the Social Security Commission in early 2005 made a second joint pre-trial appearance in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.With the pre-trial hearing before Judge Parker, defence lawyer André Louw, who has been representing Josea (46) for the past three years, formally withdrew as his legal representative.Louw told the court that he was compelled to withdraw because Josea no longer has money to pay for his services, and Josea has still not received an answer from the Legal Aid Directorate on an application for legal aid that he had submitted to it.Should the Legal Aid Directorate decide to instruct him to continue to represent Josea, he will be returning to the case, Louw said.Josea and his co-accused are being prosecuted on a total of 10 charges in connection with an investment of N$30 million that the Social Security Commission placed with an unproven asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in early 2005.Of this money, N$29,5 million was paid over to Josea’s Namangol Investments.Close to N$15 million that is alleged to have been part of the SSC’s money was later, in mid-March 2005, paid into Josea’s personal bank account.When the SSC did not receive its investment plus promised interest earnings back from Avid late in May 2005, it set in motion legal steps that resulted in Avid being liquidated in early July 2005.Josea was arrested on a charge of fraud, alternatively theft, later that month.By mid-April this year, the other six people now in the dock with Josea were also arrested and charged on instructions from the Prosecutor-General.They are Deputy Minister and Swapo Party Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia, former National Assembly Member and National Youth Council Acting Secretary-General Ralph Blaauw, his wife, lawyer Sharon Blaauw, fellow lawyer and Labour Ministry official Otniel Podewiltz, retired Namibia Defence Force Brigadier Mathias Shiweda, and Inez /Gâses, who had been the chairperson of Avid’s board of directors at the time that the SSC was convinced to place the N$30 million investment with Avid./Gâses, Kapia, Podewiltz and Sharon Blaauw were all directors of Avid.The seven are arraigned in the High Court on an indictment containing 10 charges, including a charge of fraud which is faced by all seven, a count of corruption, which is faced by Podewiltz alone, and eight charges of contraventions of the Companies Act, of which one is a charge of giving false evidence at a court enquiry in terms of the Companies Act.Kapia’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, told Judge Parker that he would still be applying for a court order compelling the prosecution to provide further particulars on the charges to his client.Namandje said he has asked the prosecution to provide him with further particulars on the charges, but almost all of the responses he has received have been that the information he was looking for was in the Police docket that has been disclosed to him.He will also still lodge a constitutional challenge with the court, Namandje indicated.Christie Mostert, representing Podewiltz and the Blaauw couple, told the court that a similar challenge is to be lodged on behalf of his clients.All seven accused have to attend another pre-trial hearing in the High Court on September 18.They are all free on bail.Except for some N$46 000 that was left in the account by late July 2005, all of this money ended up being spent or given away by Josea within the space of four months.Now, however, with his asset management company, Namangol Investments, having been declared bankrupt by the High Court and Josea still facing a Supreme Court appeal, in which it is attempting to have his personal estate sequestrated as well, Josea has run out of funds to pay for his lawyers himself, and needs to apply to the Directorate of Legal Aid to have his legal representation funded with public money.Judge Collins Parker was informed of Josea’s financial squeeze and its impact on his legal representation, when Josea and six co-accused in the pending criminal case on the alleged embezzlement of a N$30 million investment of the Social Security Commission in early 2005 made a second joint pre-trial appearance in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday.With the pre-trial hearing before Judge Parker, defence lawyer André Louw, who has been representing Josea (46) for the past three years, formally withdrew as his legal representative.Louw told the court that he was compelled to withdraw because Josea no longer has money to pay for his services, and Josea has still not received an answer from the Legal Aid Directorate on an application for legal aid that he had submitted to it.Should the Legal Aid Directorate decide to instruct him to continue to represent Josea, he will be returning to the case, Louw said.Josea and his co-accused are being prosecuted on a total of 10 charges in connection with an investment of N$30 million that the Social Security Commission placed with an unproven asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in early 2005.Of this money, N$29,5 million was paid over to Josea’s Namangol Investments.Close to N$15 million that is alleged to have been part of the SSC’s money was later, in mid-March 2005, paid into Josea’s personal bank account.When the SSC did not receive its investment plus promised interest earnings back from Avid late in May 2005, it set in motion legal steps that resulted in Avid being liquidated in early July 2005.Josea was arrested on a charge of fraud, alternatively theft, later that month.By mid-April this year, the other six people now in the dock with Josea were also arrested and charged on instructions from the Prosecutor-General.They are Deputy Minister and Swapo Party Youth League Secretary Paulus Kapia, former National Assembly Member and National Youth Council Acting Secretary-General Ralph Blaauw, his wife, lawyer Sharon Blaauw, fellow lawyer and Labour Ministry official Otniel Podewiltz, retired Namibia Defence Force Brigadier Mathias Shiweda, and Inez /Gâses, who had been the chairperson of Avid’s board of directors at the time that the SSC was convinced to place the N$30 million investment with Avid./Gâses, Kapia, Podewiltz and Sharon Blaauw were all directors of Avid.The seven are arraigned in the High Court on an indictment containing 10 charges, including a charge of fraud which is faced by all seven, a count of corruption, which is faced by Podewiltz alone, and eight charges of contraventions of the Companies Act, of which one is a charge of giving false evidence at a court enquiry in terms of the Companies Act.Kapia’s lawyer, Sisa Namandje, told Judge Parker that he would still be applying for a court order compelling the prosecution to provide further particulars on the charges to his client.Namandje said he has asked the prosecution to provide him with further particulars on the charges, but almost all of the responses he has received have been that the information he was looking for was in the Police docket that has been disclosed to him.He will also still lodge a constitutional challenge with the court, Namandje indicated.Christie Mostert, representing Podewiltz and the Blaauw couple, told the court that a similar challenge is to be lodged on behalf of his clients.All seven accused have to attend another pre-trial hearing in the High Court on September 18.They are all free on bail.