Chadema orders MPs to shun interrogation

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 22:42

By Polycarp MachiraThe Citizen ReporterDar es Salaam. Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) has instructed its legislators not to appear before the Parliamentary standing committee on ethics, privileges and powers for interrogation despite having been instructed by the Speaker’s office to do so.

The opposition political party accuses the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Anne Makinda, of contravening Parliamentary regulations in efforts to suppress the opposition.

Chadema leaders argue that all parliamentary committees’ terms ended during the tenth Parliament session. Thus the said committee does not exist according to parliamentary regulations section 113(7), they contend.At least 28 MPs from the opposition are required to appear before the committee in efforts to establish the cause of protests and chaos that took place in the last session.

Chadema noted that the same committee, chaired by Mr Hassan Athumani investigate the cause of the fuss which occurred on February 4 and submitted its findings on February 8 and thus there was no need to call the MPs again.Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Chadema secretary general, Dr Willibrod Slaa, said it was surprising that the committee did not give the MPs the opportunity to explain themselves, thus denying them natural justice.

He said they are disturbed by the number of MPs who have been called to appear before the committee while the same committee released in parliament names of only four MPs to have been behind the chaos.On February 8 the committee chairman named Messrs John Mnyika (Ubungo), Joshua Nassari (Arumeru-East), Tundu Lissu (Singida East) and Peter Msigwa (Iringa Urban) as being behind the chaos.

“I think the Speaker is acting on orders from other forces outside the Parliament. We have instructed our MPs not to appear before the non-existing committee as stated in the regulations,” he said.He said the party was ready to leave the matter in the hands of the public if any of the legislatures is suspended from the Parliament.

According to Dr Slaa, calling them before the same committee was like punishing them twice because by revealing their names in the House as MPs without respect in the house sent a negative image to the public.“Just naming them was traumatising them and calling them again to appear before the same team is a double punishment,” he noted. He said the law does not allow for further punishment on an issue that had been revealed in the past.