Former minister Bernhard Esau seeks to advance delayed Fishrot trial
via The Namibian5 min read
A lawyer representing former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau argued on Friday that the judge presiding over the Fishrot fraud, corruption, and racketeering case should order the trial of the 10 individuals charged to proceed. Defence lawyer Florian Beukes addressed acting judge Marilize du Plessis in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility, stating that the trial should continue while two of the accused, former attorney general and minister of justice Sacky Shanghala and his business partner James Hatuikulipi, are appealing a ruling where Du Plessis dismissed an application for her to step down from the case. Shanghala and Hatuikulipi are seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against Du Plessis's decision not to recuse herself. Defence lawyer Ileni Gebhardt, representing Ricardo Gustavo, previously requested the trial to proceed, arguing that criminal trials must reach finality and that other accused are being "held hostage" by the litigation choices of Shanghala and Hatuikulipi, which she described as a "deliberate strategy to delay the trial". Beukes noted that similar recusal applications and appeals have previously caused delays of about two years. He reminded Du Plessis that Esau has been in custody for nearly six and a half years since his arrest in November 2019 and is still awaiting the state's first witness. Beukes stated that Esau's health has deteriorated and he lacks certainty about the trial's conclusion, asserting Esau's
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