HELGI SELJAN and INGI FREYR VILHJáLMSSON
MINISTER of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a two-day visit to Iceland to, among others, discuss the extradition of Samherji executives linked to the Fishrot corruption scandal.
Among those travelling with her are the second in command at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Erna van der Merwe, and Namibia's prosecutor general, Martha Imalwa.
Van der Merwe and Imalwa have been in Iceland since last week, when a joint meeting of investigators from Iceland and Namibia was held at Europol's headquarters in The Hague in the Netherlands.
According to Stundin newspaper's information, 12 people attended the meeting in The Hague, where investigators from both countries, working on the Fishrot case, met and exchanged information.
After Van der Merwe and Imalwa flew to Iceland, they had meetings with the investigators at the district prosecutor's office, which handles the Fishrot investigation in Iceland.
Such a meeting was also scheduled on Monday.
The possible extradition of Icelandic individuals to Namibia was discussed at a meeting between Nandi-Ndaitwah and Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir yesterday morning.
Jakobsdóttir said in her reply to Stundin: "During a courtesy visit . . . Nandi-Ndaitwah discussed, among other things, the Samherji case, which is under investigation in both countries. It was stated that cooperation with the Icelandic investigative authorities had been good, and that a request for the extradition of three Icelanders had been made to the relevant Icelandic authorities."
The three Icelanders in question are Adalsteinn Helgason, Egill Helgi Árnason, and Ingvar Júlíusson.
Nevertheless, Stundin has confirmed that a formal extradition request still hasn't been sent to Iceland.
In a written response to Stundin, Namibia's minister of justice, Yvonne Dausab, confirmed this, saying: "Senior staff at the legal services directorate within the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the formal extradition request has not yet been sent to Iceland, and that it's currently with the Office of the Prosecutor General for their consideration and finalisation. The request would then be signed by the minister for onward transmission."
Stundin has also received information that Nandi-Ndaitwah will hold a meeting with minister of justice Jón Gunnarsson on the extraditions.
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The Fishrot investigation underway in Namibia and Iceland is the largest investigation into alleged corruption that has taken place in the two countries.
Icelandic deputy director of public prosecution Helgi Magnús Gunnarsson has, however, said it is quite clear that Icelandic individuals will not be extradited to Namibia as no extradition agreement is in force between the two countries.
The Icelandic foreign minister's assistant, Thornórlindur Kjartansson, said in an interview with Stundin that the Namibian minister had specifically asked that the media in Iceland not be involved in her visit.
He refused Stundin's request to have Nandi-Ndaitwah's agenda delivered during the official visit, and said this was done according to the guest's wishes.
Kjartansson said a press release will be issued with information and photos of Nandi-Ndaitwah's visit, as is usually done in such cases. - Stundin
