Judge orders executive directors to report on Fishrot court facilities

The executive directors of justice and the Office of the Judiciary should report to the High Court on actions taken to prepare a courtroom to be used for the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering trial.

This was ordered by deputy judge president Shafimana Ueitele in a judgement delivered in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.

Ueitele dismissed an application by three of the men accused in the Fishrot case who were asking the court to issue an interdict that would stop the prosecutor general from continuing to prosecute them in the courtroom of the High Court at Windhoek Correctional Facility, where proceedings in their criminal case have been taking place since September 2023.

The three accused – former attorney general and minister of justice Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo – were also asking the court to declare that the requirements for a fair trial cannot be met if their trial takes place in the courtroom where the dock for accused persons was previously enclosed by a metal grille that they described as a “burglar bar cage”.

They further wanted the court to direct the Office of the Judiciary to remove the metal grille they complain about and to provide tables, chairs with backrests, Wi-Fi internet access, a lectern (special desk) and electric points they can use for their laptop computers in the courtroom on the grounds of Windhoek Correctional Facility.

Ueitele noted in his judgement that the issues they wanted the court to deal with in the order they applied for have been addressed by the Office of the Judiciary’s deputy executive director, Innocent Kandandu, in a sworn statement filed at the court.

Kandandu informed the court that the metal grille the three accused were complaining about has been removed, electrical points are available in the courtroom to be used for the Fishrot trial, the accused have Wi-Fi access at the court, and the process to make physical alterations to the courtroom to address other complaints by the accused has started.

In his judgement, Ueitele said the undertakings made by Kandundu in his affidavit have addressed the complaints of Shanghala, Hatuikulipi and Mwatelulo.

The undertakings must be executed by the executive directors of the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Judiciary, and the two executive directors should provide a report to the court on the action they have taken by 5 September, Ueitele ordered.