Zorena Jantze
THE Windhoek High court today was a building filled with many damning statements read into the record by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Investigator Andreas Kanyangela, who exposed a range of emails sent by Sacky Shanghala and his co-accused which led to the setting up of the Namgomar Pesca SA company through which money was misappropriated.
Continuing his testimony today as a state witness on why the six men in the Fishcor case should not get bail, Kanyangela read emails sent by former minister of justice Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and the well-connected son of the Angolan minister, Joao de Barros and several other prominent figures.
The investigator also touched on how the Attorney General at the time, Albert Kawana, was consulted on the setting up of Namgomar, the Namibia Angola Marine and fishing company joint venture company.
Kanyangela stated that on 11 December 2013, Kawana penned a letter to the now incarcerated former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernard Esau. “We amended the draft agreement to accommodate our input there-in. As conveyed to us by the ministry, it appears Angola would prefer a legally non-binding agreement,” Kawana wrote.
He further noted that the two governments must adopt a common position, and as such an MOU would be entered into between the two governments which led to the setting by of Namgomar. Kanyangela stated that the MOU through which Namibia’s marine resources was exploited for the benefit of the Fishrot accused was created by Sacky Shanghala.
The agreement was supposedly meant to exploit the coastline resources of both countries and broaden markets for the fishing sector of both countries to ensure food security.
Kanyangela further presented evidence of a presentation that was made by Sacky Shanghala in Iceland. “After visits we can come up with how we can assist Pesca and the ministers can give their blessings,” Shanghala is quoted as saying in the presentation.
The ACC investigator furthermore quotes an email sent by Shanghala on December 23, 2013 to whistle blower Johannes Stefanson and another Icelandic representative in which he requests for information on Samerji.
In the email, Shanghala writes, “I trust you are well, I need your assistance urgently, the minister needs to brief the president on the Samerji matter, the question may arise, who is Samerji?”
Kanyangela further noted that after the successful signing of the MOU, which set up Namgomar Pesca SA, a total of 7000 metric tons of horse mackerel quota was allocated by Esau to Core Print investments, which traded under the name of Namgomar Pesca Namibia.
The investigator further quotes Sacky Shanghala in his presentation in Iceland describing the Namgomar joint venture as a rare opportunity which attracts attention, which if not utilised productively would become a target for other operators.
“In both Namibia and Angola even if government ministers change, we need to ensure that the agreement does not change and the ensure that the quotas will be allocated,” Shanghala is quoted as saying.
