Windhoek Magistrate Vanessa Stanley will on Monday determine the fate of the seven men accused in the biggest corruption case in Namibia's fishing industry, which came to be known as the Fishrot scandal. The Fishrot seven want to be released on bail while the State is opposed to granting them bail and applied for the trial to be postponed. Lawyers for the accused say the case is being politicised and the accused being used as sacrificial lambs for election gains. The lawyers argue it can not be a mere coincidence that the accused were arrested last year during the election period and now the state is still asking for two more months, which again coincide with the November Regional and Local Authority Elections. Lawyers on behalf of the accused, former Minister of Fisheries Benard Esau, former Minister of Justice Sacky Shanghala and others argue that the matter emanates from 2014 and that the State had enough time and all privileges to investigate and gather all trial evidence but chose not to do so, deliberately to cause damage and prejudice to the accused persons. The others are former Investec manager James Hatuikulipi, businessman Tamson Hatuikulipi, Investec employee Ricardo Gustavo, businessman Pius Mwatelulo and the former chief executive officer of the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (FISHCOR), Mike Nghipunya. The defence lawyers also took issue with the State's sudden u-turn when it says it needs time to conclude investigations, while at the same time, through advocate ED Marondodze, initially indicated they were at an advanced stage. The lawyers questioned whether there was a deliberate attempt to mislead the court or there was simply no correlation between State lawyers and the investigators? The state is, however, adamant that it needs more time to establish the magnitude of the financial crime. The defence argues that the State can not waste the court's time while failing to put its own house in order. This, the lawyers argue, amounts to unfair suffering of the seven men whose families are now surviving at the mercy of good Samaritans, with banks threatening to repossess their assets, while the only breadwinners languish in prison without trial and with fear of contracting the Coronavirus, which is said to be rife in the Windhoek Correctional Facility. Denying the accused bail, for the national interest, the lawyers contend, should not override democratic and constitutional principles. The matter must, therefore, be struck from the court roll for the court to prove that the rule of law exists in Namibia. The State, however, argued that reasonability should be balanced against the interest of the accused with that of the public and the magnitude of the crime. To release a person on bail there must be a proper bail enquiry, they argued. Releasing a suspect on a medical basis should fail because the accused fail to prove that their medical needs are not being taken care of while in custody. One of the reasons the State is asking for a delay in the finalizing of investigation is that the investigators could not analyse the information received from foreign countries involved such as Norway and Island as such information was provided in a foreign language and requires time for translation. There is a general fear that If it took six years since 2014 for the investigation leading to the arrest of the accused, it could take that much longer for the case to be finalised in court. Shanghala and Esau resigned from Cabinet last year and stand accused of corruption and money laundering of billions, related to fishing quotas with Islandic company Samherji, as exposed by local and international media. The two and other accused remain residents of the Windhoek Correctional Centre.