Fishrot: ACC allegedly fishing for new statements

Former justice minister Sacky Shanghala claims an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigating officer has asked fisheries ministry employees to change their statements regarding the highly-publicised Fishrot corruption saga.In the Windhoek High Court on Friday, he fingered ACC’s chief investigating officer Andreas Kanyangela in the matter, during an ex-parte application in which Shanghala, Tamson ‘Fitty’ Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo are asking that Judge Moses Chinhengo recuse himself from their trial.Among other things, Shanghala claims that Chinhengo's employment contract is no longer valid since 1 January this year because it apparently expired. He also argued that the State's case was not rooted in the pursuit of justice. "If it was about the law, they wouldn't be telling the lies they're telling," he said. The former justice minister also claimed that the State is not being transparent and open with him and his co-accused. He claimed information was withheld from them. "Why is there a new disclosure with every bail application? Why should you [Chihengo] believe them?"Don’t worryChinhengo reassured Shanghala by explaining that he can simply say when he feels the State's allegations are untrue. "I have to make a decision on what I believe are relevant submissions. Don't worry too much about whether they are lying or not. You can only indicate that it is your view that their claims are not tenable and then we take it from there," the judge said. One of the three state prosecutors in the Fishrot trial, Ed Marondedze, responded to Shanghala's claims about the State withholding information, saying they had no intention of relying on that information. Marondedze said this in reference to information that was apparently requested by defendants in December 2023. "The information was not requested until December 2023 - the State released its pre-trial memorandum in 2020. If they had requested it in April 2021, they would have gotten it by then. The State never said it was going to rely on those documents," he said. The State is required to disclose the evidence it will rely on in a criminal trial to ensure that the accused can prepare their defence. Chinhengo responded that the informal way in which issues, such as the sharing of information, are handled in this trial makes it difficult to address other issues in court. He is expected to deliver a judgment on the ex-parte application on 8 August.

Fishrot: ACC allegedly fishing for new statements

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Fishrot: ACC allegedly fishing for new statements

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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