Hengari seeks N$3.1m over ‘illegal’ parliament removal
Cabinet briefed on looming showdown
A legal storm may be brewing amid claims that the president has no power to dismiss members of parliament.
Lawyers representing former agriculture minister Mac Hengari are allegedly demanding what could amount to N$3.1 million in compensation, arguing that President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah had no legal grounds to remove him from the National Assembly.
They contend that under the doctrine of separation of powers, the executive has no authority over the legislature and that the president therefore cannot dismiss a sitting member of parliament.
According to Namibian Sun sources, Nandi-Ndaitwah has been advised to either reverse Hengari’s removal from parliament or pay him the equivalent of what he would have earned over the next five years as a non-voting member of the National Assembly.
MPs currently earn about N$620 000 annually, bringing the potential payout to N$3.1 million.
The matter is being taken seriously and was reportedly discussed at Cabinet level last week after government attorneys received demands to pay out the former minister.
Attorney general Festus Mbandeka declined to comment, saying the matter has not reached his desk.
In the wake of a scandal
Hengari was dismissed from his ministerial position last month, a day after his arrest for allegedly attempting to bribe a woman who has accused him of rape and fathering her child. He has denied the allegations and has not been formally charged in connection with the rape, which reportedly took place in 2019 when the woman was 16.
“Hengari has also been withdrawn from the National Assembly,” the presidency said in a 27 April announcement confirming his dismissal.
Hengari, who was appointed to parliament by Nandi-Ndaitwah as one of her eight non-voting nominees, earlier claimed that he had voluntarily resigned from his Cabinet post.
However, the presidency countered this, saying: “The termination of tenure takes effect from Wednesday, 23 April 2025, when [Hengari] should have tendered his resignation.”
Executive overreach claims
While the Constitution empowers the president to appoint up to eight non-voting members of parliament, legal experts say there is no law granting her the authority to remove them from the legislature.
One legal analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, explained: “The president appoints members of Cabinet and can withdraw them from Cabinet at any time of her choosing, but a president withdrawing members from parliament amounts to executive overreach."
The expert added that the president "is not the boss of parliament and thus cannot fire anyone from there. There is simply no law allowing the president to withdraw Mac Hengari from parliament – only Cabinet. Where is the separation of power as is provided for in the Namibian Constitution?"
Hengari has since been replaced by Inge Zaamwani as agriculture minister.
However, a Hengari supporter argued yesterday: “The appointment of Zaamwani as a replacement for Mac was illegal. She must resign.”
Although State House maintains that Hengari was deemed to have resigned on 23 April, he was present in the National Assembly the next day during Nandi-Ndaitwah’s maiden state of the nation address. Sources now claim this is because Hengari considered himself still a sitting member, as he had not formally resigned.
“If Hengari had resigned from both Cabinet and parliament, there would be no claim for compensation. But being removed from the latter by the president is highly illegal and must either be reversed or he must be compensated. Going back to parliament is now untenable. They must just pay him out,” the supporter stressed.
Legal debate
The demand for compensation has reportedly been referred to government attorneys, who are now expected to advise on the way forward.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari denied any suggestion that the president acted outside the ambits of the law.
“The president enjoys certain powers in terms of Articles 32(3) and 32(5) of the Namibian Constitution, namely to appoint, inter alia, ministers, appoint eight members of the National Assembly by virtue of certain qualities,” he said.
The presidential press secretary added: “In the same vein, the president may – by the same powers vested in her in terms of the Constitution or any other law – remove such person by the same process. Therefore, in the circumstances, the president – after some consideration – simply exercised her powers in terms of the constitution. The decision is therefore grounded in law and the constitution.”
Questions to parliament about whether a head of state may withdraw a member of parliament had not been answered by the time of publication.
They contend that under the doctrine of separation of powers, the executive has no authority over the legislature and that the president therefore cannot dismiss a sitting member of parliament.
According to Namibian Sun sources, Nandi-Ndaitwah has been advised to either reverse Hengari’s removal from parliament or pay him the equivalent of what he would have earned over the next five years as a non-voting member of the National Assembly.
MPs currently earn about N$620 000 annually, bringing the potential payout to N$3.1 million.
The matter is being taken seriously and was reportedly discussed at Cabinet level last week after government attorneys received demands to pay out the former minister.
Attorney general Festus Mbandeka declined to comment, saying the matter has not reached his desk.
In the wake of a scandal
Hengari was dismissed from his ministerial position last month, a day after his arrest for allegedly attempting to bribe a woman who has accused him of rape and fathering her child. He has denied the allegations and has not been formally charged in connection with the rape, which reportedly took place in 2019 when the woman was 16.
“Hengari has also been withdrawn from the National Assembly,” the presidency said in a 27 April announcement confirming his dismissal.
Hengari, who was appointed to parliament by Nandi-Ndaitwah as one of her eight non-voting nominees, earlier claimed that he had voluntarily resigned from his Cabinet post.
However, the presidency countered this, saying: “The termination of tenure takes effect from Wednesday, 23 April 2025, when [Hengari] should have tendered his resignation.”
Executive overreach claims
While the Constitution empowers the president to appoint up to eight non-voting members of parliament, legal experts say there is no law granting her the authority to remove them from the legislature.
One legal analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, explained: “The president appoints members of Cabinet and can withdraw them from Cabinet at any time of her choosing, but a president withdrawing members from parliament amounts to executive overreach."
The expert added that the president "is not the boss of parliament and thus cannot fire anyone from there. There is simply no law allowing the president to withdraw Mac Hengari from parliament – only Cabinet. Where is the separation of power as is provided for in the Namibian Constitution?"
Hengari has since been replaced by Inge Zaamwani as agriculture minister.
However, a Hengari supporter argued yesterday: “The appointment of Zaamwani as a replacement for Mac was illegal. She must resign.”
Although State House maintains that Hengari was deemed to have resigned on 23 April, he was present in the National Assembly the next day during Nandi-Ndaitwah’s maiden state of the nation address. Sources now claim this is because Hengari considered himself still a sitting member, as he had not formally resigned.
“If Hengari had resigned from both Cabinet and parliament, there would be no claim for compensation. But being removed from the latter by the president is highly illegal and must either be reversed or he must be compensated. Going back to parliament is now untenable. They must just pay him out,” the supporter stressed.
Legal debate
The demand for compensation has reportedly been referred to government attorneys, who are now expected to advise on the way forward.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari denied any suggestion that the president acted outside the ambits of the law.
“The president enjoys certain powers in terms of Articles 32(3) and 32(5) of the Namibian Constitution, namely to appoint, inter alia, ministers, appoint eight members of the National Assembly by virtue of certain qualities,” he said.
The presidential press secretary added: “In the same vein, the president may – by the same powers vested in her in terms of the Constitution or any other law – remove such person by the same process. Therefore, in the circumstances, the president – after some consideration – simply exercised her powers in terms of the constitution. The decision is therefore grounded in law and the constitution.”
Questions to parliament about whether a head of state may withdraw a member of parliament had not been answered by the time of publication.
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