Namibian minister sacked after being accused of rape

WINDHOEK, Namibia

Namibia's agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago.

Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, local media quote the police as saying.

Hengari, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.

This is the first major scandal for Namibia's first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, since she took office last month.

The statement from the president's office did not indicate the reasons for the dismissal but said Hengari had also been dismissed from the National Assembly.

Hengari was nominated to parliament by the president to represent the ruling party, Swapo.

He is under investigations for multiple charges related to the case including kidnapping, rape and assault, local media report.

The opposition Independent Patriots for Change said Hengari's arrest "on allegations of rape, kidnapping and forced abortion" was a "profound failure of leadership and exposes the hollowness of government rhetoric on gender-based violence".

It said the case came against a backdrop of "widespread gender violence", with 4,814 gender-violence cases reported last year. The country has a population of three million.

The party also criticised the vetting process, saying the president had appointed Hengari "despite a criminal investigation having allegedly been opened in November 2024".

President Nandi-Ndaitwah last month unveiled a cabinet described as ground-breaking for female representation - with nine out 14 members being women, including the vice-president.

The 72-year-old won November's election with a 58% share of the vote.

She is a long-term member of Swapo – which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against apartheid South Africa.