Wanted Namibian fugitive Maren de Klerk’s case at the Paarl Magistrates Court was postponed to next week to determine a bail application date. According to the Hawks, he was arrested following a joint operation by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation and Interpol this week.

De Klerk (55) appeared in court on Friday 2 June. 

The Hawks announced he was arrested in Paarl on Thursday on charges of racketeering, fraud, corruption and money laundering under an Interpol Red Notice. TimesLive reported de Klerk — a Namibian national who fled to South Africa three years ago — was implicated in one of Namibia’s biggest corruption scandals. However, according to the Namibian Sun, de Klerk claimed he was a whistleblower. 

According to the Hawks, de Klerk is a fugitive sought by Namibian authorities to stand trial for racketeering, fraud, corruption and money laundering. An arrest warrant and extradition notice were issued against him by the Paarl Magistrates Court in 2022. 

In July 2022, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development confirmed they received a note verbale from the Namibian Ministry of Justice containing a request for de Klerk’s extradition. 

The Hawks confirmed a cellphone and laptop were confiscated from de Klerk for further investigation. 

De Klerk is the second international fugitive arrested in Paarl in weeks. Ukiliho Kayishema Fulgence — who is alleged to have orchestrated the killing of around 2,000 Tutsi refugees during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: State set to pile on charges against Rwandan genocide suspect Ukiliho Kayishema Fulgence

He was arrested in Paarl on Wednesday 24 May. Daily Maverick reported on Friday he faces charges of fraud and contravention of the Immigration Act as well as contravention of the Refugees Act. DM