Keetmanshoop — HARDAP Governor Katrina Hanse-Himarwa ended up in a brawl at Mariental's Aimablaagte residential area on Saturday. The fight allegedly stemmed from a spat over food.

It involved Hanse-Hirmarwa and another woman, whose name is not known to The Namibian. According to Aletta Kooper, who witnessed the tussle, Hanse-Himarwa entered a room where food for her sister's wedding had been prepared and allegedly pushed it off tables before head-butting a woman present. The Namibian was unable to establish why she would have pushed the food off the table.

Attempts to get comment on this and the other allegations from Hanse-Himarwa yesterday, including two calls to her cellphone, proved futile However, the Police confirmed that there had been an incident.

Things got pretty ugly when Hanse entered the room, claimed Kooper. "Food she pushed off the table was strewn all over the room and plates were flying in the air as she threw the woman with it," she said. "When her husband tried to restrain her, she pushed him onto the ground where he landed on his backside," according to Kooper. She said local Police were called to the scene and witnessed the mess in which the room was left following the brawl. "The Governor's conduct is a total embarrassment to the entire Hardap Region," Kooper said. A senior Police officer yesterday confirmed yesterday that Police had been approached regarding charges of assault and crimen injuria against Hanse-Himarwa.

However, this was later dropped after a settlement was reached between the two parties before the official charges were registered, the senior Police officer said. It is the second time in less than two months Hanse-Himarwa has been involved in a public incident.

Recently she and Hardap Swapo leader Willie Swartz traded blows at a Swapo district conference at Rehoboth. Both laid a charge of assault against each other.