Ester Mbathera
An official from the policy, planning, and economic department in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources appeared in the Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court on Monday for allegedly defrauding a company named Razorbill Investment (PTY) of N$29.9 million.
Cecilia Nakale (52) appeared alongside Victoria George (34), Abisai Ndeuyema (34), and Elizabeth Shikongo (30) before Magistrate Vicky Nicolaides.
A fifth suspect in the matter appeared in the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court.
Nakale works in the directorate responsible for managing fishing rights, allocating fishing quotas, issuing vessel licenses, and in coordinating the overall planning for the ministry.
Questions sent to the ministry about staff involvement in fishing quotas went unanswered.
The Windhoek Observer understands there is no written policy prohibiting ministry staff or their immediate families from participating in the fishing sector.
According to court documents, the accused persons falsely claimed to have been allocated 40 000 metric tonnes of fishing quotas under a governmental employment redressing program.
They allegedly convinced Ivo Alberto Fernando De Gousa, a representative of Razorbill Investment, to pay N$29.9 million for the quotas.
“Whereas in truth and in fact the accused, when he/she so gave out and pretended as aforesaid, well knew that they were not allocated with 40 000 metric tonnes of fishing quotas by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and only allocated 502 metric tonnes of horse mackerel quotas, of which 301 metric tonnes for frozen fisgh and 201 metric tonnes for wet fish for the 2024 fishing season, and thus the accused did commit the crime of fraud,” reads the charge sheet.
The state, represented by prosecutor Maggy Shiyagaya, alleges the discrepancy between the claimed and actual quotas forms the basis of the fraud charges.
They are accused of knowingly misrepresenting their quota allocation, causing Razorbill Investment to suffer financial loss.
The four face charges of fraud, forgery, and money laundering under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA). POCA, used to combat serious financial crimes, allows authorities to trace, seize, and forfeit assets linked to illegal activities.
All four suspects remain in police custody as the investigation continues.
They were all represented by Kadhila Amoomo.
The Windhoek Observer understands more arrests are expected.
Erongo police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Ileni Shapumba said the police are not prepared to share further details.
“We will inform you when information is ready,” he said.
Researcher and political analyst Graham Hopwood, who has followed the Fishrot case, blamed the ministry for a lack of transparency.
“It’s virtually impossible to get information from the ministry about rights holders and quota recipients. There is simply no transparency nor accountability. This means that things happen in dark corners—and corruption always flourishes in dark corners,” he said.
Hopwood suggested establishing a beneficial ownership register for all companies receiving rights and quotas.
“Once in place, such a register would act as a deterrent for corruption and help to expose conflicts of interest,” he said.
He also linked the lack of beneficial ownership details to Namibia’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force.
“We could start to clean up the fisheries sector by establishing a beneficial ownership register for all companies that receive rights and quotas,” he said.
