Jacobs fined N$20 000 over vegetable garden corruption case

After nearly two decades of legal wrangling, a High Court appeal, an overturned acquittal and repeated sentencing delays, former Public Service Commission (PSC) chairperson Salmaan Jacobs walked away with a N$20 000 fine for a corrupt offence committed in 2006.

Keetmanshoop regional magistrate Frans Anderson last Friday imposed a N$20 000 fine or two years' direct imprisonment after Jacobs was convicted under the Anti-Corruption Act for abusing his position while serving as chief regional officer of the //Kharas Regional Council in 2006.

Jacobs had returned to court multiple times this year for sentencing proceedings after the High Court overturned his 2014 acquittal, finding him guilty nearly two decades after the offence was committed.

The conviction stemmed from the unlawful transfer of N$30 000 intended for a community development project.

The court found that Jacobs used his authority to facilitate payment to Sadadi Enterprises CC, a company in which he and his wife held an interest, after a project proposal was submitted in the name of his nephew.

Evidence before the court showed Jacobs personally benefited from the arrangement by receiving N$4 500 from the funds, which were deposited into the company's account as part of the corrupt scheme.

Community garden

The payment related to a proposed vegetable garden project in Berseba that was presented as a regional council community initiative. Investigations later revealed the project was never implemented.

In handing down sentence, Anderson acknowledged several mitigating factors, including Jacobs' age of 67, his status as a first-time offender and the personal and financial hardship he endured during the lengthy legal proceedings.

However, the magistrate stressed that those considerations could not overshadow the seriousness of corruption committed by public officials.

He said public office carries a duty of trust and accountability, and corruption undermines confidence in public institutions. The court therefore had to balance mercy with the need to deter similar conduct by others, he explained.

Long road

The case has travelled an extraordinary legal path since the alleged offence occurred between June and July 2006. Jacobs was originally acquitted by the Keetmanshoop Regional Court in 2014 on several corruption charges.

That decision was overturned late last year when the High Court ruled that the trial court had misdirected itself on crucial evidence.

Acting judge Marelize du Plessis, with judge Naomi Shivute concurring, found that Jacobs had dishonestly used his office to channel public funds to a business in which he had a direct financial interest.

The judges concluded that council records did not support Jacobs' claim that the Berseba project had been approved and found he deliberately failed to disclose his interest in Sadadi Enterprises, despite being required to do so.

Although the High Court upheld his acquittal on a separate charge involving a catering contract awarded to his wife's company, it ruled that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jacobs had corruptly benefited from the payment linked to the Berseba project.

Following the conviction, the High Court referred the matter back to the regional court solely for sentencing. The process was repeatedly delayed as the defence sought relief in the Supreme Court and raised applications aimed at halting the sentencing proceedings.

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