No recusal appeal in Fishrot case
Written by on May 24, 2024
An attempt by one of the men charged in the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering case, Nigel van Wyk, to get acting judge Moses Chinhengo to step down has again failed in the Windhoek High Court.
In a judgement delivered on Friday, Chinhengo dismissed an application by Van Wyk for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against Chinhengo’s decision not to recuse himself from the Fishrot case.
Chinhengo concluded in his judgement that Van Wyk does not have reasonable prospects of success with an appeal that he wants to take to the Supreme Court against his decision in March to dismiss Van Wyk’s application for his recusal.
Van Wyk applied for Chinhengo’s recusal after the judge directed in December last year that the 10 men charged in the Fishrot case should give their pleas on the charges they are facing, despite the fact that five of them were without legal representation at that stage.
Plea proceedings in the trial were halted after Van Wyk filed an application for Chinhengo to step down from the Fishrot case.
After delivering his judgement on Friday, Chinhengo directed that the trial should proceed on Thursday next week, unless Van Wyk decides in the meantime to petition the chief justice to be allowed to appeal against Chinhengo’s recusal judgement.
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