EDITORIAL: Delays perpetuate Namibia’s endless scandal cycle

As the Mac Hengari scandal festers, one can’t help but wonder: were the police ever really investigating, or did the wheels only start turning after activist Michael Amushelelo dragged the matter into the public square?It’s an old, tired playbook. In Namibia, leaders often act stunned by revelations they have known about for months - sometimes years. They clutch their pearls for the cameras, hoping we’ll forget they were complicit all along. We saw the same theatre during the Fishrot debacle. Even politicians who dined on dirty money in the run-up to the 2017 Swapo congress pretended to be mere bystanders when the truth finally burst through the headlines.This epidemic of performative shock is why so many Namibians now look not to their so-called institutions, but to voices like Amushelelo and Job Amupanda for leadership and truth-telling. Our state-funded watchdogs have curled up like lapdogs, wagging tails when they should be baring teeth.In the Hengari case, the facts speak louder than any press statement. The case was opened in November 2024. Yet DNA samples - basic, fundamental evidence - were only collected a week ago. Yes, week ago. How does one claim to investigate serious allegations when the basic groundwork such as DNA testing isn’t even done? Without pressure from activists and the media, would anything at all have happened?Meanwhile, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s sluggish handling of the scandal has only reinforced the rot. No spin doctor can erase the timeline: Hengari was still agriculture minister when he found himself behind bars that Sunday morning. No matter how many statements the Presidency issues after the fact, the public already knows the truth. Hengari himself told The Namibian he resigned voluntarily - well after the damage was done.

EDITORIAL: Delays perpetuate Namibia’s endless scandal cycle

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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EDITORIAL: Delays perpetuate Namibia’s endless scandal cycle

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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