Samuel Shinedima
BERNARD Esau, a FishRot suspect and former Minister of Fisheries, was unable to begin cross-examination immediately after finishing his evidence in chief on Thursday afternoon, according to his lawyer Florian Beukes.
According to Beukes, the postponement in the case was due to the fact that he has to travel out of town today as well as his client being unwell, adding that Esau is reliant on medicine and needs some time off before the state can begin with cross-examination.
Beukes stated that the court has agreed that the bail application would be continued in the first week of May 2023.
Earlier this week, the former Minister informed the court that, following his prior incident, in which he ended up being hospitalized at the Lady Pohamba Private hospital for 5 days, he is now required to take at least 17 to 25 tablets every day just to survive.
He informed the court that he has a heart condition and hypertension, and that it is difficult for him to maintain his health while incarcerated.
At his recently concluded examination-in-chief, the former cabinet member disclosed that his name had been exploited by his co-accused in the FishRot case to misappropriate state money for their personal advantage.
Esau was arrested in 2019 and has been detained since then, along with former Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi, his son-in-law Tamson Hatuikulipi, Ricardo Gustavo, and Pius Mwatelulo, on claims of corruption and money laundering in the fishing business.
Other people eventually taken into custody, include Shanghala’s assistant, Nigel Van Wyk, Otniel Shuudifonya, Phillipus Mwapopi, and Fishcor’s former chief executive officer, Mike Nghipunya.
With the exception of Gustova, who enjoyed a one-year period of freedom after being granted bail in the amount of N$800,000,000 with conditions and later returned to custody after the state filed an appeal, all of the accused individuals have attempted multiple bail applications and have all been unsuccessful.
