Also known as: Poca
Legislation enabling asset seizure and forfeiture in fraud and corruption cases, applied in Fishrot and other financial crime prosecutions.
Maria Hengari, an administrative employee at Namibia University of Science and Technology, appeared in Windhoek Magistrate's Court on fraud charges. She is accused of clearing student debts under false pretences between 2021 and 2024, causing the institution to lose over N$2 million.
17 April 2026 · New Era →
Maria Hengari, an administrative employee at Namibia University of Science and Technology, appeared in Windhoek Magistrate's Court on fraud charges. She is accused of clearing student debts under false pretences between 2021 and 2024, causing the institution to lose over N$2 million.
17 April 2026 · New Era →
Judge Nate Ndauendapo partially upheld discharge applications from Antoine Mbok and Daniel David Nghiwilepo, who were accused of defrauding the government of over N$3 million. Mbok was discharged on seven counts but faces three remaining charges including money laundering, while Nghiwilepo was discharged on multiple charges but must answer two conspiracy counts.
14 April 2026 · New Era →
Namibia's Supreme Court has upheld a High Court order preventing those accused in the Fishrot corruption case from accessing forfeited assets, rejecting an appeal by former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo. The court found that the Anti-Corruption Commission had proper authority to conduct the investigation and that the restraint order remains valid pending the outcome of the criminal trial, which is scheduled to recommence in March 2026.
8 April 2026 · New Era →
Namibia's Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by three Fishrot accused—former attorney general Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi, and Pius Mwatelulo—challenging the prosecutor general's use of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act to seize their assets. The court upheld the High Court's restraint order covering bank funds, properties, vehicles, and luxury goods, finding that the prosecutor general may rely on Anti-Corruption Commission evidence rather than police investigations alone.
7 April 2026 · The Namibian →
Three accused in the Fishrot fraud case—former attorney general Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi, and Pius Mwatelulo—lost their Supreme Court appeal against an assets restraint order imposed under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The court upheld the High Court's 2023 confirmation of the restraint, which freezes assets including bank funds, property, vehicles, and luxury goods belonging to six of the accused, and ordered the three appellants to pay the prosecutor general's legal costs.
3 April 2026 · The Namibian →
The Government Institutions Pension Fund is pursuing High Court action to freeze the pension funds of two former employees, Matin Eugen Smith and Vabiola Aoses, accused of embezzling N$18.6 million by altering banking details of inactive beneficiaries and channeling funds into over 50 accounts. GIPF estimates it may recover about N$8 million combined with a forfeiture order already obtained and an interdict to seize the employees' pension benefits totaling N$1.4 million.
13 March 2026 · Informanté →
A Windhoek High Court judge dismissed the attempt by cryptocurrency investment scheme operator Ruaan Smith to regain access to bank accounts frozen by the Bank of Namibia after the central bank found reason to believe he was conducting unauthorised banking business. The court upheld the Bank of Namibia's November 2021 decision to investigate Smith's accounts and the subsequent freezing of accounts at Nedbank Namibia.
10 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Legal experts say engaging senior private practitioners to prosecute the Fishrot fraud case would cost the government at least N$6 million annually, far more than the state advocates currently handling it—though prosecutors benefit from job security and pension entitlements unavailable in private practice.
26 February 2026 · The Namibian →
In the trial of Sakaria Megameno Namwandi and Asset Legacy Investment CC on fraud and Ponzi scheme charges, a witness testified that her N$5,000 investment made in October 2019 entered the entity's account after it had been frozen by the Bank of Namibia, leaving her unable to recover funds. The defence argued that Namwandi had no access to the money and that victims must apply under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act to recover invested funds once the case is finalised.
25 February 2026 · New Era →
Final submissions in the bail application of Joel Angula, accused of murder, robbery, and theft of diamonds at Namdia, will be heard on Friday after the State's case closed on the previous hearing. Angula denies all charges and claims he was tied up during the robbery incident, while a police witness testified that Angula was absent for three hours after the crime.
28 January 2026 · New Era →