You are currently viewing Fishrot’s Fitty wants to appeal against bail refusal

Fishrot’s Fitty wants to appeal against bail refusal


ONE of the alleged key figures in the Fishrot fishing quotas fraud and corruption case, businessman Tamson ‘Fitty’ Hatuikulipi, wants to appeal to the Supreme Court against a ruling in which his second application to be granted bail was dismissed in the Windhoek High Court three weeks ago.

A notice that Hatuikulipi intends to apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against acting judge David Munsu’s decision to turn down his bail application was filed at the High Court on Monday.

In the notice, it is claimed that Munsu erred in several respects when he dismissed Hatuikulipi’s application for bail based on new facts on 27 December.

It is claimed in the notice that Munsu made an error by finding the period of more than three years that Hatuikulipi has been held in pretrial custody since his arrest near the end of November 2019 did not constitute a new fact changing the facts on which he had been denied bail previously.

It is further argued that Munsu failed to balance the liberty of Hatuikulipi and the interests of the administration of justice, by over-emphasising the strength of the state’s case against him and ignoring evidence showing the state’s case not to be as strong as claimed.

By concluding that the seriousness of the charges against Hatuikulipi precluded the granting of bail to him, Munsu appeared to have reversed the principle that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, to a presumption of guilt until proven innocent, it is also claimed in the notice. In a further argument in the notice, a derogatory attack is made on the Fishrot scandal whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson, who lifted the lid on the Icelandic fishing company group Samherji’s alleged involvement in corruption in the Namibian fishing sector.

Stefánsson is smeared as having been shown to be “a whoremonger, drug addict and criminal”, rather than a “saviour on a mission of honesty and integrity”. Hatuikulipi (41), the son-in-law of former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau, and nine co-accused – including Esau, former justice minister and attorney general Sacky Shanghala, a cousin of Hatuikulipi, James Hatuikulipi, and former National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) chief executive Mike Nghipunya – are facing an array of charges in the High Court in connection with an alleged scheme to unlawfully exploit Namibian fishing quotas.

During Hatuikulipi’s bail hearing before Munsu, an Anti-Corruption Commission investigator told the court it is alleged that Hatuikulipi received financial benefits of more than N$75 million from his alleged involvement in a scheme to divert income realised from fishing quotas supposedly allocated for “governmental objectives” to himself and co-accused in the Fishrot case.

It is stated in the notice filed on Monday that Munsu will be asked, on a date to be arranged with the court’s registrar, to allow Hatuikulipi to appeal to the Supreme Court against his ruling on Hatuikulipi’s application to be granted bail.

In his bail ruling, Munsu concluded that the state has shown it has a strong case against Hatuikulipi, who is facing charges including counts of fraud, bribery, racketeering and money laundering.

Munsu said the fact that someone has spent three years in custody before their trial does not automatically entitle them to bail. He said a court must strike a balance between protecting the liberty of accused persons who are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the interests of the proper administration of justice. The seriousness of charges faced by an accused and the strength of the state’s case are pertinent facts to be considered by a court in that regard, he said. He also stated that alleged violent crimes and serious monetary offences, such as those involving the theft of public funds, could no longer be differentiated in bail applications.





Source link