PRESIDENT Hage Geingob said he will not testify in France if asked to provide evidence in a court case involving allegations of corruption and bribery.
Geingob made this remark during an interview broadcast by French news service Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Saturday.
The court case centres around a corruption probe about how French state-owned nuclear giant Areva (now called Orano) bought a Canadian uranium company, UraMin, in 2007.
Areva paid US$2,5 billion for UraMin, which owned the Trekkopje uranium mine in Namibia and other mineral rights in South Africa and the Central African Republic.
Areva later admitted that it overpaid for UraMin, which was worth only half the price.
Geingob has declared to the Namibian parliament that he was paid N$3 million as a consultant to help UraMin renew their licence in Namibia before it was sold to Areva.
French radio service RFI over the weekend asked Geingob whether he was willing to testify in France in this case.
“I am never going to testify in a foreign jurisdiction. I have my own jurisdiction here. That’s why I even opposed this ICC [International Criminal Court] because I say we must have our own institutions,” Geingob said.
He added: “If I commit a crime, [my case will be heard] in my courts, nobody else’s court.”
The President insisted that the Areva saga had nothing to do with him since UraMin was sold on a stock exchange.
Geingob’s role in helping renew UraMin’s licence in Namibia boosted the value of the company before it was sold to Areva.
He said it’s not his businesses if Areva overpaid for UraMin.
“Go and ask the French,” Geingob retorted.
French state-owned news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), reported in April this year that French officials described certain payments to Geingob as “illicit monthly transfers”.
“Magistrates (investigating judges) are also wondering about monthly payments of US$10 000 in 2008 and 2009 paid to the then Namibian minister of commerce [trade] and industry, current President Hage Geingob,” AFP said.
This deal turned out to be a poisoned chalice for people involved in the deal as French authorities have aggressively investigated how Areva overpaid for UraMin.
Several former high-ranking Areva officials have been charged with corruption over the deal, including former head of Areva’s mining branch, Sébastien de Montessus, who was charged in March this year with corruption and paying bribes to public officials in relation to Areva’s UraMin purchase.
The Namibian asked Geingob’s lawyer Sisa Namandje yesterday whether, legally, the President could testify in France.
Namandje responded: “Geingob has over the years exhaustively and satisfactorily demonstrated that he did not commit any illegality, or contravene any law.”
“It is concerning that the President is continuously and unfairly being made to engage the media and furnish answers to questions based on such a hypothesis. There is no public interest in such an academic and hypothetical exercise,” he said.
Geingob’s role in the UraMin transaction is not the only link to Areva.
Areva wanted another favour from the government after buying UraMin’s Trekkopje.
Geingob, as trade minister, agreed to allow Trekkopje to avoid paying taxes for five years, a privilege not extended to other companies in the uranium mining sector, such as Rössing Uranium and Langer Heinrich.
Some ministers did not agree with giving Areva special treatment at the time.
Geingob told RFI that former President Hifikepunye Pohamba agreed to extend Areva the privilege to avoid paying taxes.
That was not the only special treatment given to Areva at the time.
The French company constructed the Erongo Desalination Plant, situated 30 kilometres north of Swakopmund.
The plant, known as the Areva plant, received a rare permit to purify sea water and sell it to Erongo region residents and companies.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
