Hanse-Himarwa gets official funeral after ‘spirited debate’
Ex-minister gets respectable send-off
Provisions of the Conferment of National Honours Act, which deals with the conduct of honorees, became a key reference during the discussions.
After much deliberation revolving around her 2019 corruption conviction and whether it qualified for a ‘dishonourable act’ inferred in the Conferment of National Honours Act, consensus was reached to confer an official funeral on former education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa.
Namibian Sun understands that there was a spirited debate among government officials on whether to confer a state-sponsored funeral on Hanse-Himarwa, who died on 14 July after a battle with cancer. In July 2019, Hanse-Himarwa was found guilty of corruption and lying under oath. The Windhoek High Court found that she had used her office for self-gratification while she was governor of the Hardap Region when she removed names of housing beneficiaries from a list of approved recipients and replaced them with her own relatives.
At the time of her death, she was under a separate investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission for allegedly allocating a resettlement farm to her son in 2015, reportedly in cahoots with then lands minister Alpheus !Naruseb.
But it is the corruption conviction that divided government leaders, with some arguing that the late former minister did not qualify for the honour if the Act was strictly adhered to.
Already suffered consequences
The Act states that the president may revoke any honour conferred upon a person who acts contrary to the national interest or commits a dishonourable act that is detrimental to national interest. However, others argued that the revocation referred to in the Act relates to where a honoree commits such regressive acts after having already been honoured.
They also argued that the Act requires honouring a person who has made significant contributions to the betterment of the Namibian nation in the economic, social, scientific, academic, public administration, security or any other field of human endeavour – saying Hanse-Himarwa qualifies for the honour under this provision.
A Cabinet minister yesterday told Namibian Sun that Namibian law does not allow convicts to be punished perpetually for a crime they have already suffered consequences for. “The principle of our law is that you can’t punish a person twice for the same crime."
The Cabinet member highlighted the fact that Hanse-Himarwa was given an option of a fine, which meant that the crime committed was not of a severe nature. She was sentenced to pay a fine of N$50 000 or, failing to do so, face 24 months in jail.
“One can really not say that her crime affected national interest. It affected a person or two, and I think the Act refers more to a situation where things like national interest are compromised. I think, in fairness, she qualified for the honour of an official funeral,” the minister said.
Appeasing voters
It is also understood that government honoured Hanse-Himarwa in order to manage perceptions and avoid possible accusations of tribalism. A government official said: “If the deceased was a convicted Oshwambo-speaking person, it wouldn’t have been too hard to not give them a state-financed funeral, because the president himself is from the same tribe, so he cannot be accused of tribalism”.
“But there’s also an element of appeasing the voters in the south, especially now that Swapo was dislodged by [the Landless People’s Movement]. But in my view, government also stands to gain credibility in the eyes of the voters by taking issues of ethics seriously. By not honouring a corruption convict with an official funeral, government can also enhance its credibility in the eyes of many voters.”
Least expensive
Minister in the presidency Christine //Hoebes confirmed in a statement that Hanse-Himarwa will receive an official funeral.
An official funeral - which includes costs of up to N$80 000, a military parade by the defence force and a six-gun salute - is the least expensive of government-sponsored funerals. A state funeral, on the other hand, would cost more and has the incumbent president as the chief mourner. The most expensive of all is the hero’s funeral, where the deceased would be buried at Heroes’ Acre or anywhere else in the country.
The education ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp announced that learners from surrounding schools in the Khomas and Hardap regions have been granted permission to form a guard of honour along the procession route.
In Windhoek, the procession will begin at 09:00 on Wednesday, 24 July, at Soweto Market in Katutura.
Learners will line selected streets to pay their respects to Hanse-Himarwa - who is a former teacher and principal - as the procession departs Windhoek. Similar arrangements will be made in Rehoboth and Kalkrand as the procession continues to Mariental, where she will be buried.
Namibian Sun understands that there was a spirited debate among government officials on whether to confer a state-sponsored funeral on Hanse-Himarwa, who died on 14 July after a battle with cancer. In July 2019, Hanse-Himarwa was found guilty of corruption and lying under oath. The Windhoek High Court found that she had used her office for self-gratification while she was governor of the Hardap Region when she removed names of housing beneficiaries from a list of approved recipients and replaced them with her own relatives.
At the time of her death, she was under a separate investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission for allegedly allocating a resettlement farm to her son in 2015, reportedly in cahoots with then lands minister Alpheus !Naruseb.
But it is the corruption conviction that divided government leaders, with some arguing that the late former minister did not qualify for the honour if the Act was strictly adhered to.
Already suffered consequences
The Act states that the president may revoke any honour conferred upon a person who acts contrary to the national interest or commits a dishonourable act that is detrimental to national interest. However, others argued that the revocation referred to in the Act relates to where a honoree commits such regressive acts after having already been honoured.
They also argued that the Act requires honouring a person who has made significant contributions to the betterment of the Namibian nation in the economic, social, scientific, academic, public administration, security or any other field of human endeavour – saying Hanse-Himarwa qualifies for the honour under this provision.
A Cabinet minister yesterday told Namibian Sun that Namibian law does not allow convicts to be punished perpetually for a crime they have already suffered consequences for. “The principle of our law is that you can’t punish a person twice for the same crime."
The Cabinet member highlighted the fact that Hanse-Himarwa was given an option of a fine, which meant that the crime committed was not of a severe nature. She was sentenced to pay a fine of N$50 000 or, failing to do so, face 24 months in jail.
“One can really not say that her crime affected national interest. It affected a person or two, and I think the Act refers more to a situation where things like national interest are compromised. I think, in fairness, she qualified for the honour of an official funeral,” the minister said.
Appeasing voters
It is also understood that government honoured Hanse-Himarwa in order to manage perceptions and avoid possible accusations of tribalism. A government official said: “If the deceased was a convicted Oshwambo-speaking person, it wouldn’t have been too hard to not give them a state-financed funeral, because the president himself is from the same tribe, so he cannot be accused of tribalism”.
“But there’s also an element of appeasing the voters in the south, especially now that Swapo was dislodged by [the Landless People’s Movement]. But in my view, government also stands to gain credibility in the eyes of the voters by taking issues of ethics seriously. By not honouring a corruption convict with an official funeral, government can also enhance its credibility in the eyes of many voters.”
Least expensive
Minister in the presidency Christine //Hoebes confirmed in a statement that Hanse-Himarwa will receive an official funeral.
An official funeral - which includes costs of up to N$80 000, a military parade by the defence force and a six-gun salute - is the least expensive of government-sponsored funerals. A state funeral, on the other hand, would cost more and has the incumbent president as the chief mourner. The most expensive of all is the hero’s funeral, where the deceased would be buried at Heroes’ Acre or anywhere else in the country.
The education ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp announced that learners from surrounding schools in the Khomas and Hardap regions have been granted permission to form a guard of honour along the procession route.
In Windhoek, the procession will begin at 09:00 on Wednesday, 24 July, at Soweto Market in Katutura.
Learners will line selected streets to pay their respects to Hanse-Himarwa - who is a former teacher and principal - as the procession departs Windhoek. Similar arrangements will be made in Rehoboth and Kalkrand as the procession continues to Mariental, where she will be buried.
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