EDUCATION minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa will deny guilt on the corruption charge she faces in the Windhoek High Court.
This is stated in a document filed by lawyer Sisa Namandje at the High Court, where Hanse-Himarwa made a first pre-trial appearance yesterday.
The prosecutor general has indicted Hanse-Himarwa on a charge of corruptly using her former office as governor of the Hardap region to obtain gratification for herself or another person.
The charge stems from allegations that Hanse-Himarwa in December 2014 interfered with the allocation of houses built by government at Mariental by removing the names of two people from the list of beneficiaries, and replacing them with two of her relatives.
In reply to a list of questions from the prosecution to establish which issues would be in dispute during the trial, Namandje stated that she would admit to holding a public office as governor of the Hardap region at the time of the alleged incident.
Hanse-Himarwa would also admit that Christiana Lorraine Hanse is her sister-in-law, and that Justine Josephine Gowases is the grandchild of an aunt of hers, Namandje also stated.
The prosecution alleges that the names of two beneficiaries who were due to be allocated houses at Mariental under a government housing project, Regina Kuhlman and Piet Fransman, were removed from a beneficiary list on instruction from Hanse-Himarwa, and replaced with the names of Hanse and Gowases.
Namandje did not directly answer questions whether Hanse-Himarwa would admit or deny allegations that she expressed disappointment over the list of housing beneficiaries to be allocated houses at Mariental, and whether she directed that the names of Kuhlman and Fransman be replaced with the names of Hanse and Gowases. Those allegations would be addressed during the trial, Namandje said in the document filed at court.
He also stated that Hanse-Himarwa did not have knowledge of an allegation that her sister-in-law did not occupy the house that had been allocated to her, but rented it out to someone else.
During her appearance before judge Christie Liebenberg yesterday, Hanse-Himarwa was informed that her case was allocated to judge Nate Ndauendapo. Her next pre-trial appearance before judge Ndauendapo is on 29 May.
Hanse-Himarwa remains free on a warning from the court in the meantime.
Deputy prosecutor general Ed Marondedze represented the state during yesterday’s proceedings.
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