Woman in Hengari rape case moved to safe house amid police abduction denial
The woman (21) in the rape case involving agriculture minister Mac Hengari has been placed under police protection amid ongoing investigations and public scrutiny.
Police inspector general Joseph Shikongo confirmed this to Desert FM on Thursday.
He said investigations into the case are ongoing.
Shikongo said the alleged victim was moved to a safe house, since she is displaying suicidal behaviour.
He said this in response to allegations that the woman was kidnapped by the police.
“The police have handed them [the woman, her mother and her baby] over to a social worker, because the victim in recent days has developed some suicidal thoughts.
“We felt we needed a social worker to talk to her and to make sure they explain what they can do to best support the victim,” he said.
Shikongo said he was aware of claims that the police moved the alleged victim from Oshakati to Windhoek forcefully.
He, however, refuted this.
He said the alleged victim, along with her mother and baby, are safely under the care of social workers.
“They have since been placed in a designated house of safety under the care of social workers, and are no longer in police custody,” he said.
Hengari has strongly denied the rape allegations.
He told The Namibian yesterday he is confident the truth would eventually surface.
“When all is said and done, the truth always prevails,” he said.
Human rights advocate Linda Baumann yesterday voiced concern over the psychological impact of delays in solving rape cases.
“Survivors may feel isolated, unsafe, and disbelieved – especially when the accused holds significant influence.
“The emotional toll could lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and in severe cases suicidal ideation,” she said.
This delay, Baumann added, sends the message that justice does not apply to everyone and hinders other survivors in politically connected cases.
She called for an urgent need to establish an independent body to oversee politically sensitive cases, protect witnesses and whistleblowers, and to hold law-enforcement agencies accountable.
“The resilience of survivors should not be a requirement for justice. The system must change to uphold the rights and dignity of every individual, regardless of who the accused is,” she said.
Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) director Toni Hancox says despite the sensitive nature of the case, Hengari is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
“It is sensitive, and it might not always be what people want to hear, but the minister is innocent until proven guilty,” she says.
Hancox says victims should be aware of legal assistance provided by the state on how to keep record of threats. This can be used when prosecutors apply for their protection.
She says domestic violence and witness protection units require a lot of evidence to warrant protection, due to the protection unit being underfunded.
“They are not well resourced. They’re not open on weekends,” she says.
SUPPORT SYSTEM
Windhoek-based psychologist Shaun Whittaker says the alleged victim’s mental health could deteriorate further due to believing her life is in danger.
“This causes extreme fear and anxiety, which could lead to sleeplessness, racing thoughts, and heart palpitations,” he says.
Whittaker says the alleged victim is legally an adult who cannot be detained against her will without the relevant legal action from a magistrate’s court and a psychiatrist.
However, urgent professional support is critical to ensure any suicidal thoughts are treated appropriately, he says.
Shikongo’s response comes a few weeks after social activist Michael Amushelelo posted on social media that the alleged victim was admitted to Oshakati State Hospital’s psychiatric ward.
“It appears the plan is to have her discredited that she is mentally unstable, and that what she is alleging against the minister is nothing but a crazy confused person speaking,” he posted on social media.
Hengari has since March threatened Amushelelo with legal action if he does not remove the allegatory posts from all his social media platforms.
The minister has said the allegations are an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
Amushelelo has questioned why Hengari remains a minister.
DEFAMATION
Hengari’s lawyer, Loini Shikale-Ambondo, yesterday in an open letter to Amushelelo said Hengari would spare no effort to clear his name after Amushelelo’s Facebook claims on 28 March.
“Our client denies these allegations in their entirety. They are perpetuated and engineered by a third force. These claims are false, defamatory, and without any factual or legal basis,” she said.
Shikale-Ambondo dismissed allegations that the minister coerced the alleged victim into getting an abortion as “inconsistent, sensationalist, and intended to harm Hengari’s reputation”.
She said Amushelelo claimed the case files were misclassified and went missing, despite a rape case being opened in the Oshana region under case number CR 73/11/2024.
Shikale-Ambondo has demanded that Amushelelo provide the mother and child’s full details by 4 April for a paternity test to be conducted.
“Hengari denies the paternity of the alleged child and is willing to undergo a paternity test at a duly registered, reputable and mutually agreed upon entity to establish the truth.”
However, the lawyer said no police or investigating officer has contacted the minister about the alleged rape.
She said Amushelelo is soliciting donations from the public through a nameless bank account, purportedly to relocate the alleged victim and child.
Shikale-Ambondo urged him to retract his statements immediately and halt further defamatory remarks as “failure to comply will result in legal recourse without further notice”.
“Should you fail to comply, we hold instructions to institute legal proceedings to compel you to provide the information requested in the paragraph, alternatively for you to take.”
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