Hanse-Himarwa denies corruption charge

WINDHOEK, 29 OCT – Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa implicated in a corruption case on allegations of allocating houses to some of her relatives in the Mariental area, on Monday denied committing the offence.
The alleged corruption charge stems from the minister’s duties and powers as the governor of the Hardap Region from 2005 to 2014 prior to her appointment to her current ministerial position.
The 51-year-old Hanse-Himarwa denied committing the offence when she pleaded not guilty to the corruption charge at the start of her trial before High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg here.
In a statement presented before court through privately-instructed defence lawyer Sisa Namandje, Hanse-Himarwa said she had never used her office or position for gratification when she was the Hardap governor, as the prosecution alleges.
“I had never placed some of my relatives on a list of mass housing beneficiaries at Mariental at the time I was a governor of the Hardap Region. I had also not replaced some original beneficiaries from the list of housing so that my relatives would benefit,” she said, strongly challenging the prosecution to prove the veracity and truthfulness of each and every element of the allegations levelled against her.
A summary of substantial facts contained in the charge sheet has it that Hanse-Himarwa in December 2014 interfered with the allocation of houses built by government under the mass housing programme at Mariental, by removing the names of two people from the list of beneficiaries, and replacing them with two of her relatives.
It is alleged that the names of Regina Kuhlman and Piet Fransman were removed from a list of the housing beneficiaries, allegedly on the instructions by Hanse-Himarwa, and replaced with the names of Christiana Lorraine Hanse and Justine Josephine Gowases.
The minister admitted before court on Monday that both Hanse and Gowases are indeed her relatives, but denied any involvement or giving any directives for the inclusion of their names on the list of the housing beneficiaries.
Nghidinwa Daniel, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, is amongst the people summoned by the prosecution to give evidence on its behalf.
State advocates Salomon Kanyemba and Constance Moyo appeared for the prosecution.
Hanse-Himarwa is free on warning and the trial continues on Tuesday.
(NAMPA)