Ex&Avid chair parts ways with fraud trial lawyer

A DEFENCE lawyer’s departure from the trial of the seven people being prosecuted in connection with the alleged embezzlement of a Social Security Commission investment of N$30 million, has thrown the trial into uncertainty.

A lengthy postponement of the trial could be on the cards after defence counsel Werner Boesak informed Judge Christie Liebenberg in the Windhoek High Court yesterday that his client, Inez /G acirc;ses, has terminated his mandate to represent her.

Boesak was still cross examining the first accused in the trial, former Swapo Party Youth League leader, deputy minister and National Assembly member Paulus Kapia on behalf of /G acirc;ses on Tuesday when the court adjourned until yesterday on a request from Boesak, who said he wanted some time to take further instructions from his client.

Boesak has been /G acirc;ses’ defence counsel since she, Kapia and five co accused went on trial before Judge Liebenberg near the end of May 2014. Following his departure from the case, the matter has been postponed to Monday next week to give /G acirc;ses time to try to get a replacement for Boesak.

/G acirc;ses was the chairperson of the board of directors of an inexperienced asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, when the company managed to persuade the top management of the Social Security Commission in January 2005 to invest N$30 million with it.

However, by the end of the investment period of four months, Avid was unable to repay the N$30 million plus promised interest of N$1,4 million to the SSC, prompting the parastatal to have the company provisionally liquidated in July 2005.

Kapia had been a director of Avid for close to a year until he resigned from the position in March 2005.

Kapia and /G acirc;ses are on trial with two fellow former directors of Avid, Otniel Podewiltz and Sharon Blaauw, a Swapo Party colleague of Kapia, Ralph Blaauw, retired Namibian Defence Force brigadier Mathias Shiweda and Nico Josea. Following the dismissal of some of the state’s charges against the seven after the end of the prosecution’s case in August last year, Kapia, /G acirc;ses, the Blaauw couple and Podewiltz are facing charges of fraud and reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.

Josea, who is alleged to have misappropriated close to N$15 million of the SSC’s money about a month and a half after the N$30 million had been transferred into a bank account of Avid, is still charged with theft and reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.

Shiweda, who was slated to become a shareholder of Avid, is facing only a count of reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.

Kapia disputed the correctness of several aspects of /G acirc;ses’ instructions to Boesak when the defence lawyer put those instructions to him during his cross examination on Tuesday.

In a plea explanation given to the court when the seven accused denied guilt on all charges at the start of the trial, /G acirc;ses stated that Avid was founded by the late Lazarus Kandara, who was a cousin of hers. Kapia said he was not aware of that.

Kapia has testified that Ralph Blaauw approached him at the end of April or beginning of May 2004 to ask him if he was interested in becoming a director of Avid. He has also told the court that Blaauw introduced him to Kandara around May 2004, and that he was told Kandara would advise Avid on the investment business.

Kandara was regarded as persona non grata by the SSC after he had previously been paid lucrative commissions from SSC investments which he handled under the name of a business associate. Kandara shot himself in front of the Windhoek Central Police Station on 24 August 2005, shortly after he had been arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement of the SSC’s investment of N$30 million with Avid.

Kapia has testified that he was not aware that Kandara was in effect acting as the chief executive officer of Avid and that he was, with /G acirc;ses, a signatory on the company’s bank accounts.

Boesak put it to Kapia that according to /G acirc;ses, Kandara was present at a meeting with Kapia at the latter’s office at which a list of Avid’s shareholders was discussed during January 2005, before that list was to be handed to the SSC.

Kapia’s response to that instruction was that he did not have any meeting with Kandara in January 2005. /G acirc;ses gave him the list of shareholders which he and she handed over to the SSC before the parastatal finally decided to transfer N$30 million to an account of Avid, Kapia said.