N$7m Fishrot loot linked to Swapo

A Supreme Court judgment yesterday dropped a Fishrot bombshell when three judges in a bail appeal by some of the accused, citing the State’s evidence, said just less than 10% of N$75 million derived from fishing quota auctions reached the ruling party Swapo.Acting appeal judges Theo Frank, Jeremiah Shongwe and Kananelo Mosito recently heard arguments by former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, former chairperson of the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) board James Hatuikulipi, former Fishcor CEO Mike Nghipunya, Pius Mwatelulo, Otneel Shuudifonya and Phillipus Mwapopi against High Court judge Shafimana Uietele’s decision to deny them bail in April 2022.In their judgment yesterday, the three justices said the Fishrot scheme, ran by individuals in high political office, has spilled over to the Swapo Party.The judges said just under 10% of the N$75 million raised through the government objectives quota reached the ruling party.According to the judgment, then fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau decided to make use of the provision relating to quotas for governmental purposes to allocate quotas for the benefit of Swapo, for use at its 2017 congress where the new leadership of the party would be elected.Swapo has consistently denied allegations that it benefitted from the bribery scandal, saying no money was deposited into its accounts and that individual party members accused in the scandal acted in their private capacities.The use of the quotas for these purposes was allegedly conveyed to Nghipunya by Hatuikulipi.“Fourth appellant [Nghipunya] sold these quotas to fishing companies and arranged that the proceeds thereof be paid to the trust accounts of two legal practitioners from where they would be further distributed,” the judgment read in part.“An amount of N$75 million was raised in this regard. What transpired when the money trail was followed in respect of the payments by the two legal practitioners is that less than 10% of the N$75 million ended up with the Swapo Party and the balance of the amount was transferred to various entities in which the accused persons had an interest.”Not surePolitical analyst Graham Hopwood yesterday said “until we get the detailed evidence in the trial, it will be hard to tell” just how damning this information is.“This section of the judgment is a summary of the State&#039;s case - mentioned to underline the seriousness of the case against the six accused,” he said.“Again, I&#039;m not sure if the State is saying the funds went directly into Swapo&#039;s official accounts or into accounts closely associated with the party and individuals in the party. Swapo has always said that nothing came into its official accounts,” he added.Following their November 2019 incarceration, former Fishcor boss Nghipunya applied for bail during June 2020, but it was refused by the Magistrate’s Court. He then appealed to the High Court, but his appeal was unsuccessful. Nghipunya then joined forces with his five co-accused and approached the Supreme Court to overturn the High Court ruling.That appeal was dismissed yesterday.Court records and tranches of bank transactions in the public domain detail how Fishrot funds - channelled through the trust accounts of lawyers Sisa Namandje and Maren de Klerk - were used to bankroll party activities such as paying for conference facilities, food, transport, party regalia and other politically-related costs.Through Fishrot, high-level party functionaries in government made sure that the ruling party was well taken care of by settling an avalanche of election-related bills, inner-party sources told Namibian Sun yesterday.‘Check our records’The party has over the years vehemently denied that it benefitted from the country’s biggest corruption scandal, which has seen - for the first time, at least - two ministers sent to jail for their alleged roles in ensuring the scheme was executed.At one point, party secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa even dared the press to inspect the party’s private financial records in a bid to sanitise Swapo from Fishrot.However, critics have always maintained that the party has not taken the nation into its confidence when it comes to the corruption scandal.The accused persons face charges of racketeering and money laundering, fraud, theft and obstructing or attempting to obstruct or defeat the course of justice – involving a total amount in excess of N$317 million.

N$7m Fishrot loot linked to Swapo

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-23

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N$7m Fishrot loot linked to Swapo

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-23

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