The family of his mother migrated to the Kingdom of England from Cologne in the reign of Henry II of England; his father, Thedmar by name, was a citizen of Bremen who had been attracted to London by the privileges which the Plantagenets conferred upon the Teutonic Hanse.
This stood for 200 years until it was destroyed by the Hanse in 1369.
In February 2009, Hanse-Himarwa was condemned by the National Society for Human Rights of Namibia for declaring Hardap Region "SWAPO territory" and urging supporters not to allow other political parties to "invade" the region.