The charges faced by former minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Mac Hengari after his arrest seven weeks ago must be rejected as invalid, because they are premised on a rape charge against Hengari that does not exist, a lawyer argued in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Addressing magistrate Monica Andjaba during Hengari’s fourth court appearance since his arrest on 26 April, defence lawyer Patrick Kauta argued that the three charges against Hengari and a co-accused should be quashed. Kauta argued that the charges are based on allegations that Hengari and his co-accused tried to induce a woman to withdraw a rape charge against Hengari – but that this is an impossibility, as Hengari has not been charged with rape to date. Hengari’s co-accused is not being named because he is related to a complainant in a rape case registered with the police. Kauta said “as a matter of fact and law” Hengari has not been charged with rape. “So you can’t induce somebody to withdraw something that doesn’t exist,” he added. On behalf of the state, though, deputy prosecutor general Filistas Shikerete-Vendura argued that Kauta’s objection to the charges is premature. The charges against Hengari and his co-accused are preliminary at this stage, and only once the investigation of the matter has been concluded, will the prosecutor general be able to decide the final charges they will face and in which court they should stand trial, Shikerete-Vendura said. It is only once the charges have been finalised and put to the accused that they can object to the charges, she argued. The application to have the charges thrown out of court is “baseless” and “not sound in law”, Shikerete-Vendura argued as well. Hengari and his co-accused are charged with a count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, with the state alleging that they gave N$220 200 to a complainant in a rape case registered against Hengari, to induce her to withdraw the rape charge. The money is alleged to have been handed over to the complainant during a meeting between her, Hengari and the co-accused in Windhoek on 26 April. They are also charged with a count of corruptly giving gratification, with the state alleging that N$220 200 was given to the rape complainant on 26 April as an inducement for her to withdraw the rape charge against Hengari. The third charge against Hengari and the second accused is a count of incitement to commit the offence of compounding, which is to unlawfully withdraw a criminal case after being paid to do so. Kauta also argued that the magistrate does not have a discretion to again direct that Hengari and the second accused should be held in custody until a next appearance in court. However, the magistrate already ruled last week that the case can be postponed, and declined to order that the arrest of Hengari and his co-accused was unlawful, which Kauta also argued for. After hearing the arguments yesterday, Andjaba said she would need some time to properly consider the matter. She postponed the delivery of her ruling on the defence’s objection to the charges to 4 July. Hengari and the second accused are still to be held in custody in the meantime. The post Lawyer claims Hengari charges are flawed appeared first on The Namibian.

A lawyer representing former minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Mac Hengari says he will ask for the charges against Hengari to be thrown out of court. Defence lawyer Patrick Kauta informed magistrate Monica Andjaba in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Friday that he will apply for the charges against Hengari to be quashed. Kauta said this after Andjaba delivered a ruling in which she dismissed an attempt by Kauta and fellow defence lawyer Kadhila Amoomo to have the arrest of Hengari and a co-accused on 26 April declared unlawful. Kauta argued on Tuesday last week that Hengari’s arrest took place as a result of a sting operation carried out by the police, and that the arrest was unlawful because he had been caught in a trap. Kauta did not object to a postponement of Hengari’s case, which was requested by the state, but objected to an order that Hengari should continue to be held in custody until his next scheduled court appearance. Andjaba said in her ruling on Friday that the application for Hengari’s release on the basis of entrapment “is not only premature but unsubstantiated as well”. She also noted that after Hengari and a co-accused were arrested, they made a first court appearance on 28 April and were then remanded in custody when their case was postponed for further investigations to be carried out. Since that first court appearance, Hengari and his co-accused have been held in custody not on the basis of their initial arrest, but based on a warrant of detention issued by the court, Andjaba said. Because of that, the attempt to have Hengari and his co-accused released because of an alleged unlawful arrest must fail, Andjaba said. She added that in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, Hengari and his co-accused have a right to bring bail applications to secure their release from custody. Andjaba postponed the case to 3 July, for further investigations to be carried out in the meantime. Hengari was initially charged with a count of attempting to defeat or obstruct the course of justice. That charge has in the meantime been changed to a count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice, with the state alleging that Hengari and his co-accused gave N$220 200 to a complainant in a rape case registered against Hengari, to induce her to withdraw the rape charge. The money is alleged to have been handed over to the complainant during a meeting in Windhoek on 26 April. On Tuesday last week, deputy prosecutor general Filistas Shikerete-Vendura informed the magistrate that the state was adding two additional charges to the first charge. The first of the new charges is a count of corruptly giving gratification, with the state alleging that N$220 200 was given to the rape complainant on 26 April as an inducement for her to withdraw the rape charge against Hengari. The second new charge is a count of incitement to commit the offence of compounding, which is to unlawfully withdraw a criminal case after being paid to do so. Following Andjaba’s ruling, Kauta said the charges must all be quashed because on the evidence disclosed in a witness statement of the police officer who arrested the two accused and is investigating their case, they cannot be prosecuted on those charges. A continued prosecution of the accused “is not only unlawful, it’s unconstitutional”, Kauta said. The application to have the charges quashed is scheduled to be heard in court on Thursday this week. Hengari’s co-accused is not being named because he is related to the complainant in the rape case registered with the police. The post Hengari’s lawyer wants charges thrown out appeared first on The Namibian.

A group of protesters on Wednesday called for the release of former agriculture minister Mac Hengari from police detention, saying several allegations, including the rape of a minor, against him are false. The group is planning to protest at Hengari’s formal bail application next week. Spokesperson Rirua Komeheke said the protest date has been moved from 16 May, because the group has “listened to the voice of reason”. “We want to move the protest much closer to the day of the bail application, or exactly on that day,” he said In a photo circulated on social media, Hengari is pictured in handcuffs with money scattered at his feet. Komeheke asked why the reporter who took the picture posted this on social media, since arrests are considered private until the accused appears in court. He said the arrest was intended to embarrass the former minister, and added it is important for Namibians to know their rights when they face allegations of whatever magnitude. Making reference to the Jennifer Comalie case in which she was arrested on 27 March 2023 after drugs were allegedly found in her car, Komeheke said it shows the police can be “lowered and operate like tsotsis”. He called on president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to establish a commission to investigate and report on the incident. “It shows we must be afraid of the police if we think we are about to take a decision that will affect a particular person. That’s why I’m saying we must not be afraid of the police, and we are bringing this to the attention of the first citizen of the republic . . . she must establish a commission to investigate these activities,” Komeheke said. The post Protesters demand rape-accused former minister Hengari’s release, slam ‘public humiliation’ appeared first on The Namibian.

A Lawyer representing former agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform minister Mac Hengari has issued a demand to be provided with a copy of DNA test results obtained during the investigation of a rape case involving Hengari as a suspect. The demand is made in a letter that lawyer Patrick Kauta of the law firm Dr Weder, Kauta & Hoveka Inc addressed to the control prosecutor of the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Friday. In the letter, Kauta is alleging that Hengari’s arrest was carried out in the presence of a newspaper representative, who was allowed to photograph the scene unhindered, “to embarrass the suspect and influence public opinion and interest”. A complainant accusing Hengari of rape was also present at the scene of Hengari’s arrest on 26 April, after Namibian Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo had been quoted in the media as having said that the complainant was in a safe house, Kauta says in his letter. Alleging that the presence of a newspaper representative at Hengari’s arrest showed “police complicity in the commission of a crime”, Kauta states in his letter: “You will agree that in a constitutional democracy such as ours the police should be dissuaded to settle political scores.” Kauta also says in the letter that the head of the Namibian Police Forensic Science institute, commissioner Nelius Becker, was present when a warning statement was taken from Hengari on 27 April. According to Kauta, Hengari queried the status of his DNA results when his warning statement was taken, and Becker informed him: “DNA results are out, and the baby is not yours.” Kauta says he has instructions from Hengari to initiate a formal bail application urgently. He has requested the control prosecutor to provide him with the charge sheet of the case in which Hengari was arrested, the grounds on which the state intends to refuse the granting of bail to Hengari, copies of documents and material that the state intends to use during a bail hearing, and copies of warning statements and other statements made by Hengari. Kauta is also demanding that a copy of DNA test results obtained by the police should be provided to him by 16h00 on Wednesday this week. Hengari appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on a charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice on Monday last week. His case was postponed to 3 June, and it was ordered that he should be held in custody in the meantime. Hengari is accused of attempting to pay a bribe of N$230 000 to a complainant accusing him of rape. The payment is alleged to have been offered in an attempt to persuade the complainant to withdraw a rape case that she opened against Hengari last year. He was arrested near a restaurant in Windhoek on 26 April, reportedly as a result of a sting operation carried out by the police. Hengari announced on 27 April that he had resigned as minister. His announcement was followed by a statement in which the Presidency said president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah had dismissed Hengari from his position on 23 April. The post Lawyer for former minister Hengari demands DNA results, slams police for ‘political score-settling’ appeared first on The Namibian.