Africa-Press – Namibia. SIX of the men charged in the Fishrot fishing quotas fraud and corruption case are set to hear on Monday if they have succeeded with an appeal to the Supreme Court to be granted bail.
The Supreme Court’s judgement on the men’s appeal will be delivered at 10h00 on Monday, it was announced from the office of chief justice Peter Shivute on Friday.
Acting appeal judges Theo Frank, Jeremiah Shongwe and Kananelo Mosito reserved their judgement after hearing oral arguments on the appeal on 24 January.
The six accused – former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, his business partner James Hatuikulipi, former National Fishing Corporation of Namibia chief executive Mike Nghipunya, Pius Mwatelulo, Otneel Shuudifonya and Phillipus Mwapopi – are appealing against a decision of High Court judge Shafimana Ueitele, who in April last year dismissed their applications to be granted bail.
In his judgement, Ueitele concluded that it would not be in the interests of justice to grant them bail.
The six accused are facing charges in connection with the alleged corrupt use of fraudulently allocated Namibian fishing quotas, through which they are claimed to have received financial benefits amounting to N$317 million, according to the state.
Shanghala, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo have been held in custody since their arrest near the end of November 2019.
Nghipunya was arrested in mid-February 2020.
Shuudifonya and Mwapopi have been in custody since their arrest in December 2020.
Their trial is at this stage scheduled to start in the Windhoek High Court on 2 October this year.
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