Cop claims bribery case was a failed investigation
Simon says he acted alone in the sting plan
A suspended Namibian police officer accused of helping a convicted sex trafficker bribe a prosecutor claims the entire corruption case against him stems from a failed investigation — and that he acted alone in an attempt to trap the prosecutor, not to commit bribery.
Jafet Simon, a former senior investigator in the Erongo Region, is standing trial in the Swakopmund Regional Court on charges of corruption and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
He is accused of facilitating a bribe of N$60 000 to a state prosecutor, Tresia Hafeni, on behalf of a Pakistani national Farhan Khatri, who was later convicted alongside two women for the human trafficking and the raping of a minor in 2018 at Walvis Bay.
During cross-examination on 29 September, before Magistrate Vicky Nikolaidis, state prosecutor Beate Mwahi put it to Simon that he knew the case was already being handled by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), yet he deliberately chose not to inform any authorities.
Simon responded that he trusted no one and therefore carried out what he described as an \'independent sting operation\'.
He allegedly informed no one except one senior officer, who has since passed away.
“It never crossed my mind to go to the ACC,” he told the court.
Personal discretion
Simon admitted that although a police commander had testified that the case was too serious to be handled by a single officer, he maintained that an officer could still act using personal discretion.
He, however, conceded that procedures were important in case something went wrong, but insisted his intentions were legitimate.
The State questioned Simon’s credibility, noting that he made no recordings, took no photographs, and failed to preserve evidence.
Simon claimed he had intended to track the money used in the handover by having Khatri make copies — though this was never done.
He admitted using N$200 from the envelope to buy lunch and a newspaper on the day of the alleged bribe — the lunch, he said, was for the prosecutor (who allegedly requested it), and the newspaper was for himself.
Simon said the money was for a trap, not a bribe — but prosecutor Mwahi countered that “the trap was a bribe".
She also alleged that about N$3 500 went missing from the total and suggested Simon kept it as a fee for facilitating the meeting.
The extra money found on him, he claimed, had not come from the bribe, but from his own funds, which he said he had withdrawn the previous day ahead of travelling to his stepfather’s funeral.
Sting operation
The court heard that the passport in question — allegedly handed over by Hafeni — was discovered concealed in Simon’s crotch area when he was arrested by ACC officers during a sting operation targeting the alleged bribery at the prosecutor’s office.
Asked why he had hidden it there, Simon told the court it was “the safest place” at the time to keep as evidence.
The ACC had been conducting its own covert investigation into the matter at the time and arranged a legitimate sting operation in coordination with the state prosecutor.
Simon and Khatri were allegedly unaware that the meetings and cash handover were part of this controlled setup, which culminated in Simon’s arrest moments after the alleged bribe was delivered.
Simon insisted the bribery allegations were false and based solely on the prosecutor’s claims.
He argued that the Hafeni’s phone had never been forensically analysed — which, he said, would have revealed that she was recording the meetings and possibly demanding the bribe herself.
“All the information would be on her phone,” he said, calling the case against him “a failure.”
He further alleged that Hafeni had asked Khatri where her payment was for helping him secure bail, and that Khatri declined, saying money left less of a paper trail than transferring a vehicle. Simon claimed he wanted to use the passport handover as evidence from the sting operation and maintained that he was not involved in any bribery scheme.
The case was postponed to 29 October for final submissions.
Jafet Simon, a former senior investigator in the Erongo Region, is standing trial in the Swakopmund Regional Court on charges of corruption and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
He is accused of facilitating a bribe of N$60 000 to a state prosecutor, Tresia Hafeni, on behalf of a Pakistani national Farhan Khatri, who was later convicted alongside two women for the human trafficking and the raping of a minor in 2018 at Walvis Bay.
During cross-examination on 29 September, before Magistrate Vicky Nikolaidis, state prosecutor Beate Mwahi put it to Simon that he knew the case was already being handled by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), yet he deliberately chose not to inform any authorities.
Simon responded that he trusted no one and therefore carried out what he described as an \'independent sting operation\'.
He allegedly informed no one except one senior officer, who has since passed away.
“It never crossed my mind to go to the ACC,” he told the court.
Personal discretion
Simon admitted that although a police commander had testified that the case was too serious to be handled by a single officer, he maintained that an officer could still act using personal discretion.
He, however, conceded that procedures were important in case something went wrong, but insisted his intentions were legitimate.
The State questioned Simon’s credibility, noting that he made no recordings, took no photographs, and failed to preserve evidence.
Simon claimed he had intended to track the money used in the handover by having Khatri make copies — though this was never done.
He admitted using N$200 from the envelope to buy lunch and a newspaper on the day of the alleged bribe — the lunch, he said, was for the prosecutor (who allegedly requested it), and the newspaper was for himself.
Simon said the money was for a trap, not a bribe — but prosecutor Mwahi countered that “the trap was a bribe".
She also alleged that about N$3 500 went missing from the total and suggested Simon kept it as a fee for facilitating the meeting.
The extra money found on him, he claimed, had not come from the bribe, but from his own funds, which he said he had withdrawn the previous day ahead of travelling to his stepfather’s funeral.
Sting operation
The court heard that the passport in question — allegedly handed over by Hafeni — was discovered concealed in Simon’s crotch area when he was arrested by ACC officers during a sting operation targeting the alleged bribery at the prosecutor’s office.
Asked why he had hidden it there, Simon told the court it was “the safest place” at the time to keep as evidence.
The ACC had been conducting its own covert investigation into the matter at the time and arranged a legitimate sting operation in coordination with the state prosecutor.
Simon and Khatri were allegedly unaware that the meetings and cash handover were part of this controlled setup, which culminated in Simon’s arrest moments after the alleged bribe was delivered.
Simon insisted the bribery allegations were false and based solely on the prosecutor’s claims.
He argued that the Hafeni’s phone had never been forensically analysed — which, he said, would have revealed that she was recording the meetings and possibly demanding the bribe herself.
“All the information would be on her phone,” he said, calling the case against him “a failure.”
He further alleged that Hafeni had asked Khatri where her payment was for helping him secure bail, and that Khatri declined, saying money left less of a paper trail than transferring a vehicle. Simon claimed he wanted to use the passport handover as evidence from the sting operation and maintained that he was not involved in any bribery scheme.
The case was postponed to 29 October for final submissions.
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