Former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau will support an application for a separation of trials by three of his co-accused in the Fishrot case.
Esau’s defence lawyer, Florian Beukes, informed acting judge Moses Chinhengo in the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility yesterday that Esau will join his co-accused Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo in their application to have their trial separated from that of the other accused in the Fishrot case.
He will continue to represent Esau in that application, but will no longer be able to represent him in the criminal trial before Chinhengo, Beukes said.
He said this is because he has been representing Esau for about three years without being paid for his services.
Beukes recounted that a judge of the High Court ordered in July that about N$3,4 million should be released from Esau’s assets that were placed under a Prevention of Organised Crime Act property restraint order in November 2020.
That order would have enabled Esau to pay Beukes for work he has done in the past and also to pay projected future legal expenses.
However, the prosecutor general has in the meantime filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s judgement, Beukes said.
The appeal suspends the High Court’s order for the release of the funds.
“That brings us back to square one,” Beukes remarked, adding that he and Esau are now in “a vacuum of uncertainty” while having to wait for the hearing of the appeal and the Supreme Court’s judgement thereafter.
He will not be able to represent Esau in his trial without being paid and as a result will withdraw from the trial, Beukes said.
If Esau loses his legal representation, five of the 10 persons due to stand trial before Chinhengo in connection with the alleged unlawful acquisition and use of Namibian fishing quotas will not be represented by a defence lawyer.
Shanghala, Hatuikulipi, Mwatelulo and the first accused in the case, Ricardo Gustavo, do not have legal representation at this stage.
Shanghala, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo filed an application to have their trial separated from the trial of their co-accused at the end of last week.
In a sworn statement filed at the court, Shanghala says he, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo face serious and complex charges, there is a prospect that long prison terms could be imposed if they are convicted and they want to have legal representation during what is expected to be a lengthy trial.
Once a separation of trials has been ordered, the trial of the other accused can continue unhindered and without delay while he, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo continue with efforts to secure legal representation for themselves, Shanghala says in the affidavit.
During court proceedings yesterday, Chinhengo asked Shanghala when he would have legal representation in place.
Shanghala answered that he could not estimate when that would be.
He indicated that he plans to file a court application as part of his efforts to get legal representation and that he estimated it would take 11 to 12 months to have that application heard and decided.
Once he gets legal representation, his defence lawyer would need time to prepare for the trial, and that could take another eight months, Shanghala said.
As a result, he cannot give a precise date when he expects his trial would be able to start, he added.
Despite objections from Shanghala and Gustavo, who said they want to be given more time to prepare for the hearing of the application for a separation of trials, Chinhengo said he will hear arguments on the application on 13 September.
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