Judge Moses Chinhengo has ordered that the criminal trial in the Fishrot matter continue.

The accused persons will continue to take pleas on the remaining charges from September 2 to 6 and 10 to 13.

The timetable for the rest of the court proceedings says Chinhengo will continue in consultation with the lawyers of the accused persons.

During an attempt to fix dates for the continuation of the trial, legal representatives from both the state and private, including unrepresented accused persons, could not agree on dates, some suggesting that they will only be ready for trial in 2026.

Justice Chinhengo, however, ruled that it is not an absolute right for a client to be represented by a particular lawyer and said that should a lawyer not be available on the said dates, such a lawyer should not accept the brief from the client.

Six out of 10 accused persons have legal representation, of which three have informed the Court of their readiness to continue with the trial.

Some of the accused persons have indicated to the Court in prior seating their intentions to lodge applications; this may cause a further delay in the smooth continuation of the trial.

Namibia's biggest corruption trial was scheduled to commence on October 2nd last year but has faced multiple delays, with applications asking for the recusal of the presiding judge.

Former members of cabinet, Sakeus Shanghala and Bernardt Esau, are among those who are charged with corruptly receiving payments of at least N$300 million to give a competitive advantage to Icelandic fishing company Samherji in securing access to horse mackerel quotas in Namibia.