Genocide lawyers made a killing

JEMIMA BEUKES



Documents seen by Namibian Sun show that one of the lawyers hired by attorney-general Sacky Shanghala to handle Namibia’s reparations case against Germany, Anna Uukelo, charged N$11 000 an hour for reading genocide-related articles in local newspapers and relaying this information to the lead lawyer, Dexter Dias.

Uukelo, who is a Namibian based in the UK, was paid a total amount of N$16.4 million, while Dias submitted invoices totalling N$16.9 million.

Detailed invoices showed Uukelo charged £600 per hour (N$11 000 at the August exchange rate) for making telephone calls to Shanghala and for waiting in transit while travelling between Namibian and the UK.

She also billed the government for non-essential work such as sending her colleagues information on malaria vaccinations.

Three other European lawyers, Richard Reynolds, Cameron Miles and Paul Clark, were also approached by Shanghala to conduct research to determine the strength of Namibia’s genocide case against Germany.

Reynolds was paid N$785 784, while Clark received N$417 717. Miles was paid almost N$1 million.

In total the government spent N$35.5 million on the fees of the five lawyers, which finance minister Calle Schlettwein found to be excessive. Shanghala has defended the payments.

One of the lawyers charged up to N$9 250 for a single telephone call, according to the invoices submitted.

Schlettwein told lawmakers on Tuesday that there were several discrepancies in the information provided by the lawyers in the invoices.

He said it was necessary to settle invoices to avoid possible attachment of the Namibian embassy in the United Kingdom. He also admitted that the money had not been budgeted for.

Swanu leader Usutuaije Maamberua had requested Schlettwein to provide clarity on the excessive legal fees in the case.

Schlettwein said the office of the attorney-general only made a request for payment in the last quarter of the 2016/17 financial year, by which time payment needed to be made to avoid attachment of the embassy.

“During the last quarter of the financial year 2016/17, a request was made by the office of the attorney-general for the payment of the referred to legal fees. However, such expense was not appropriated for,” Schlettwein said.

The other snag was that the treasury could not be compelled to pay invoices not budgeted for under the State Finances Act, Schlettwein explained.

This meant the payments to the London-based lawyers could not be honoured.

The ministry of finance, however, had to make a transfer to the ministry of international relations to avoid an attachment order against the Namibian embassy in London.

“Arrangements were made for the ministry of international relations to partially settle the invoices to the tune of N$3 365 931,” Schlettwein said.

The remaining balance was then budgeted for under the attorney-general’s budget vote, under the provision for unpaid invoices from the 2016/17 financial year, Schlettwein said.

The finance minister asked the Anti-Corruption Commission, the office of the auditor-general as well as the attorney-general to investigate the payments made to the five lawyers and report their findings to the National Assembly.

However, opposition members of parliament felt that the government could not investigate itself, fearing a potential a cover-up.

PDM’s McHenry Venaani suggested that the matter be referred to a parliamentary standing committee. The National Assembly is expected to vote on the matter today.

Recently the ACC stopped an investigation into these legal fees, much to the chagrin of Schlettwein and the opposition.

ACC director-general Paulus Noa was quoted in The Namibian as saying that there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the payment of the lawyers. “They were contracted and paid for the work they did,” he was quoted as saying.

Spotlight on Uukelo

Meanwhile, a director of a large law firm in London has told Namibian Sun that a £600 hourly rate is appropriate for a highly experienced senior legal practitioner.

He also questioned the lawyers’ claimed working hours of between 18 to 20 hours a day for weeks on end.

“It is very odd to just be registered at the London Bar but not to be linked to an advocate’s office, this does not happen,” he said.

He was referring to Uukelo, who on the Bar Standards Board listed her primary practice address as the office of the attorney- general of the Republic of Namibia at the UK High Commission for Namibia at 6 Chando Street in London.

Uukelo also listed the High Commission’s telephone number as her office number.

The second secretary at the High Commission in London, Toini Filemon, yesterday told Namibian Sun that Uukelo had never worked from the embassy.

“I am afraid Ms Anna is not reachable at this address. She has never worked here,” she said.

Venaani claimed in parliament last week that his investigations into Uukelo’s affairs had led him to a block of flats in London instead of a business address.

According to Uukelo’s Linkedin account, apart from practising as a barrister in the UK, she is a renewable energy expert and the CEO of Olupale Energy Namibia, a renewable energy company registered in the country.

She also states that she is an expert in commercial law, compliance and money-laundering laws and regulations.

She states that she has B.Juris and LLB degrees from the University of Namibia and a master of law (LLM) degree from the University of South Africa.