By Tunomukwathi Asino
WINDHOEK – The Police Chief Inspector-General, Sebastian Ndeitunga informed New Era yesterday that the police will first investigate the allegations that the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Uahekua Herunga allegedly raped a 51-year-old woman before forwarding the information to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office.
The decision on whether to arrest the minister will come from the PG’s office, Ndeitunga said. Yesterday Confidénte reported that a 51-year-old woman opened a rape case against the minister.
Ndeitunga said the case was complex, as the two have made counter cases against each other, adding that the matter “was not something that could be solved with a stroke of a pen”. The police were investigating to find information beyond the two, he continued.
Replying to why some people, who were accused of rape, were arrested immediately, the police chief said every case has its own merits. Ndeitunga could not give a timeframe of when the matter will be forwarded to the PG.
The case was opened last week.
The minister allegedly forced himself on the woman on September 9 last year at her Pionierspark home. It is further alleged that Herunga wanted to offer the victim N$100 000 in a bid to silence her.
Herunga was a regional co-ordinator for his party in north-western Kunene Region prior to his appointment to the National Assembly in 2009. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism and promoted to Minister of Environment and Tourism in a cabinet reshuffle in December 2012.