Namibian Agriculture Minister Mac-Albert Hengari sacked after being accused of rape

Namibia’s agriculture minister has been fired due to accusations of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago. Mac-Albert Hengari taken to the police custody on Saturday, April 26, after alleged to have attempted to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, the police highlighted.

Mac-Albert Hengari, 59, who has rejected the claims, appeared in court on Monday and was denied bail. This is a significant controversy for Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, in her first month in office.

As per the statement by president office, there is no reasons regarding the elimination but said Hengari had also been eliminated from the National Assembly.

Hengari was appointed to parliament by the president to stand for the ruling party, Swapo. He is facing investigation for multiple charges concerning the case including kidnapping, rape, and assault, police say.

He appeared before a magistrates’ court on Monday in the capital Windhoek charged with interfering with the course of justice.

He and his other accused individual will remain in detention until 3 June when the case will proceed on. They were denied bail on the basis that they could be a risk of escaping and could seek to contact witnesses.

The Opposition Independent Patriots for Change said Hengari’s arrest “allegations of sexual misconduct, kidnapping and forced abortion” was a “systemic leadership failures and reveals government hypocrisy on gender-based violence”.

It said this took place against the background of  “widespread gender violence”, with 4,814 gender-violence reported cases in the last 12 months. The population of the country is approximately 3 million.  The party also expressed concerns about the vetting system, saying the president had appointed Hengari “regardless a criminal investigation were reportedly underway  in November 2024”.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah last month revealed A cabinet marked as historic for representation of women with nine out 14 members being women, including the vice-president. The Nandi-Ndaitwah won November’s election with a 58% proportion of vote

SOURCE: BBC

READ:  UCL semi-final preview: Arsenal vs PSG