Hengari wants his DNA results this week

Former agriculture minister Mac Hengari has threatened to drag the State to court for contempt after prosecutors allegedly failed to comply with a court order requiring them to disclose the full police docket, including DNA test results, in his pending criminal case.In a letter dated 10 July addressed to prosecutor Adv. Kuutondokwa, Hengari's lawyers at WKH Incorporated accused the State of ignoring an order issued by the Katutura Magistrate's Court on 23 April, which directed prosecutors to furnish the defence with the complete docket by 29 May.DNA samples were collected in 2025 from both Hengari and a woman, aged 21 at the time, who has accused him of multiple serious offences, including rape and a forced abortion. The DNA samples were taken to determine paternity of the woman’s baby.Although Hengari has neither been arrested nor formally charged in this regard, police are investigating allegations that he had a sexual relationship with the woman from the time she was 16, with incidents allegedly occurring between 2019 and September 2024. The woman opened a criminal case in November 2024, also accusing the ex-minister of forcing her to terminate a pregnancy. Hengari was arrested in 2025 - losing his Cabinet job in the process - on charges of bribery.Prosecutors accused him of trying to bribe his accuser with N$220 000 in return for her withdrawing her accusations and criminal case. Hengari denies both accusations or rape and bribery. The April 2026 court order required the State to hand over copies of Hengari's warning statements, all statements made under Section 335 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and the DNA results forming part of the investigation.Despite the order, Hengari's legal team says the documents remain outstanding more than six weeks after the deadline."The State is reminded that the Court Order... is not directing Ms Mwahi to provide full disclosure to counsel for the defence, but it directs the State," senior associate Mekumbu Tjiteere wrote, rejecting an explanation by the prosecutor-general's office that the prosecutor assigned to the matter had not been aware of the court order.The defence argues that compliance with court orders is an institutional obligation that cannot depend on the knowledge of an individual prosecutor.According to the correspondence, the prosecutor-general's office informed the defence on 23 June that the docket consists of 484 pages and that copies would cost N$968. Hengari's lawyers say they arranged payment and attempted to collect the documents, but were repeatedly referred from one prosecutor to another."We have been referred to various prosecutors at Katutura Magistrates' Court, but they could not avail disclosure. This amounted to the writer herein being bounced between offices like a tennis ball," the letter states.The defence also relies on an earlier undertaking by the Office of the Attorney General, which previously stated that disclosure would be provided once a decision had been taken to prosecute. Hengari's lawyers argue that because the prosecutor-general decided to prosecute on 9 March, the investigation has been completed and there can be no justification for withholding the evidence.They have now given the State until 15 July at 16:00 to comply fully with the April court order.The lawyers insist that full disclosure must include the DNA results, warning that should the State continue to withhold them, they will seek further particulars and institute contempt of court proceedings without further notice.The demand follows earlier correspondence in which Hengari's legal team similarly complained that prosecutors had failed to honour the court-ordered disclosure despite repeated requests, maintaining that access to the complete docket is essential for the preparation of his defence.The State had not publicly responded to the latest demand by the time of publication.

Hengari wants his DNA results this week

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-13

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Hengari wants his DNA results this week

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-13

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