Staff Reporter
THE Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Prosecutor General which challenged a High Court decision that granted Fishrot accused Bernhardt Esau N$3.5 million of his frozen assets to pay for his legal fees.
Three Supreme Court judges—Justices Angula, Smuts, and Frank—upheld the judgment delivered by High Court Judge Beatrix de Jager, who had delivered the ruling in July 2024.
“We argued the case on the 30th of April. The Supreme Court made a judgment that the appeal is dismissed. The High Court will remain in effect. The Supreme Court will still make its reasons available. So at least Esau will have access to legal counsel during his upcoming trial,” said Florian Beukes, the lawyer representing Esau.
In February 2025, Judge Moses Chinhengo gave directives for the Fishrot fraud, corruption, and racketeering trial to proceed on 4 August 2025, adding that all pending matters affecting the commencement of the trial should be resolved beforehand.
The Fishrot accused include former Minister of Justice Sackeus Shanghala, former Fisheries Minister Bernhardt Esau, brothers Tamson and James Hatuikulipi, Mike Nghipunya, Otneel Shuudifonya, Phillipus Mwapopi, and Nigel van Wyk. They face up to 40 counts after being arrested in late 2019, following their implication in the country’s largest fisheries corruption case, in which the accused allegedly received kickbacks of over N$300 million to give a competitive edge to Icelandic fishing giant Samherji HF.
