Phala Phala accused Urbanus Shaumbwako to plead guilty on gun charges
Asked if the ‘recent developments’ include Arthur Fraser’s claims that Shaumbwako was among the burglars at Ramaphosa’s game farm, his attorney declined to comment
Urbanus Shaumbwako, one of the Namibians accused by former spy-boss Arthur Fraser of helping to steal $4m (R68) in cash from President Cyril Ramaphosa, allegedly wants to plead guilty to gun possession charges.
His attorney — who asked not to be named — told the Cape Town regional court on Tuesday that due to “recent developments of a sensitive nature”, Shaumbwako wanted a remand in his case to start plea and sentencing negotiations with the state.
Asked whether the recent developments included Fraser’s allegations that Shaumbwako was among the burglars at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm, the attorney declined to comment.
Shaumbwako was expected to start trial on Tuesday for the possession of 12 firearms that the Sunday Times recently reported belonged to the Namibian police. The newspaper reported that the 12 firearms were on lists of 174 firearms that Namibian police reportedly admitted to their SA counterparts were missing.
Shaumbwako has been in custody since his arrest in October 2020. City of Cape Town traffic officers, who stopped Shaumbwako at a roadblock at the time, were also in court waiting to testify.
The officers stopped Shaumbwako at a roadblock, who was driving his housemate and fellow Namibian Erkki Shikongo’s VW Polo at the time, at a roadblock when they noticed a red bag on the passenger seat floor.
Shaumbwako sped away from the suspicious officers and a car chase ensued. However, they eventually caught Shikongo. Shaumbwako attempted to flee on foot into the township of Dunoon but was soon arrested by two officers who gave chase on foot.
TimesLIVE investigation sources also said that according to Shaumbwako’s cellphone data obtained as part of the investigation against him, he was in Cape Town when Fraser alleged the theft at the Phala Phala game farm took place, on February 9 2020.
The case was postponed until September 1 for plea and sentencing negotiations.
Shaumbwako was remanded until his next appearance, and his lawyer was told to hand over proposals for the plea and sentencing agreement well before the next appearance to avoid another delay.
TimesLIVE