Katrina Hanse-Himarwa (born 22 January 1967, in

Hoachanas Hoachanas (Khoekhoe: ) is a settlement of 3,000 inhabitants in the Hardap Region of southern central Namibia, located northeast of Kalkrand. It is situated at the junction of the main road C21 from Kalkrand, and C15 from Dordabis to Stampriet ...

) is a

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n politician. A member of the SWAPO party, she served as Minister of Education, Arts and Culture from 21 March 2015 to 9 July 2019. Hanse-Himarwa is a teacher by profession. She holds a Basic Education Teacher's Diploma (BETD) obtained in 1995 and a Bachelor in Education Management Technology obtained in 1999. She has been working as teacher and school principal since 1987. After winning the

Mariental Rural Mariental Rural is a constituency in the Hardap region of Namibia. Its administrative centre is the city of Mariental. It had a population of 15,308 in 2011, up from 13,946 in 2001. the constituency had 4,065 registered voters. Politics The 2 ...

constituency in the 2004 local elections for the SWAPO party she was appointed governor of

Hardap Region Hardap is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Mariental. Hardap contains the municipality of Mariental, the towns Rehoboth and Aranos, and the self-governed villages Gibeon, Gochas, Kalkrand, Stampriet and Maltahöhe. It is ...

, a position she held until 2015.

Corruption allegations & conviction

In July 2019 Hanse-Himarwa was found guilty of corruption and lying under oath. Judge Christie Liebenberg at the Windhoek High Court found that she used her office for self-gratification while she served as governor of

to remove listed names on a national housing project in order to favour one of her relatives. She was represented by lawyer

Sisa Namandje Sisa Namandje (born 1972) is a Namibian lawyer prominent for representing high profile namibian figures. He has represented all three Namibian presidents Sam Nujoma, Hifikepunye Pohamba and Hage Geingob. Early life and education Namandje was bor ...

who was not present during the delivery of the verdict. A day after the verdict on 9 July 2019, Hanse-Himarwa resigned from her position as minister of education. Martin Andjaba succeeded her in an acting position because the next parliamentary election was only months away. Hanse-Himarwa was sentenced to a fine of N$50 000 on 31 July 2019 at the Windhoek High Court, becoming the third high-ranking member of the

SWAPO Party The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...

since

Tobie Aupindi ''Tobie'' is an oratorio by Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Fau ...

and Marina Kandumbu to be sentenced. She retained her seat in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Recognition

Hanse-Himarwa was conferred the Most Distinguished Order of Namibia: First Class on

Heroes' Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that ...

2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanse-Himarwa, Katrina 1967 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Hardap Region SWAPO politicians Namibian educators 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians Education ministers of Namibia Culture ministers of Namibia Women government ministers of Namibia Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Politicians convicted of corruption