By The Citizen Reporter
A law don has shot down a suggestion by Igunga MP Rostam Aziz to have the report on the Richmond scandal that was tabled in Parliament to be scrutinised by a panel of judges as an untenable under the Constitution.
Mr Aziz raised the idea during an interview with Mwananchi Communication (MCL) journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday. He said he wanted the panel of judges to give the "final say" on the report, which a deputy minister has described as a "fake."
Since the report was tabled in Parliament in February last year, Mr Aziz's name came out prominently as one of the persons behind the scandal, charges he has vehemently denied.
And, he now wants a panel of judges to look into the report and come up with "a verdict" on his role whole saga that involved awarding a tender for emergency power generation to dubious company.
"If the panel of judges finds me responsible in any way, I will resign all my posts and positions in the party so that legal action can be taken against me," Mr Aziz said. Mr Aziz is also a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Central Committee (CC) of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
But Dr Sengondo Mvungi, who is a senior law lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), told The Citizen yesterday that what Mr Aziz wants is impossible.
He said what Parliament did was to prepare a report and after it was debated openly in the August House, Parliament passed a number of resolutions and advised the Government to work on them, he said.
He said there was no one empowered to question what the Bunge did as long as it did so in line with the Constitution, the laws and regulations governing its conduct.
"Parliament did not investigate the matter the way the police would do. The Government, on the other hand, has all the powers to investigate what was written in the report and prosecute those mentioned if there is need to do so.
It is from this Government process that one can go to the courts of law to protest," he said.
When asked on the possibility of the Bunge resolutions being made subject to another estate of power, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Samwel Sitta, asked for more time to consult the Parliament legal experts and parliamentary regulations.
"It is unfortunate that I cannot get hold of Parliament regulations right now and this issue should be clarified basing on what the regulations say. Therefore, give me time," he said.
Mr Aziz suggestion comes days only after the chairman of the Parliamentary select committee which investigated the Richmond scandal, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, warned that there was evidence to prove what is contained in the in the report.
"There is evidence to prove that what is written in the report is true and those who continue to question it (the report) could be prosecuted," warned Dr Mwakyembe during one of the CCM secret meetings held last week in Dodoma. Like Dr Mvungi, Dr Mwakyembe is also a UDSM senior law lecturer.
It was during one of the same meetings that Ukonga MP and deputy minister for Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Dr Makongoro Mahanga suggested that President Jakaya Kikwete form a team of judges to authenticate the report.
Mr Aziz maintained yesterday that what has been written in the report regarding him, were all lies. "What is in the report is total fabrication, the truth is that I am not involved in any way with the Richmond scandal... they were not fair at all," he said.
Dr Mvungi said further that no one was empowered to query Parliament resolutions unless Parliament seriously breached natural justice in the process of arriving at the said resolutions.
"And by natural justice here I refer to the right of an accused person to be heard. What has been agreed in the parliament cannot be a subject of discussion outside the law making organ," he insisted.
An earlier attempt by Mr Aziz to defend himself backfired in parliament in April last year, after a heated debate ensued as Deputy Speaker Anne Makinda and two opposition legislators argued against the move by the Igunga MP.
Mr Aziz was due to present his formal defence in the House, but was barred from doing so.In his written response, Mr Aziz is said to have questioned the timeframe used by the select committee to investigate the scandal.
Initially, the Speaker had asked the Igunga MP to submit his response in accordance with Parliamentary standing orders. However, the House Steering Committee, upon receiving Mr Aziz's written submission, barred him from tabling it in the House.
Two opposition legislators told Parliament that the Igunga MP was barred to respond by his CCM party in order to protect the party.
Tabling of the report by Dr Mwakyembe's committee, saw the resignation of the former Prime Minister, Mr Edward Lowassa and two other members of the cabinet, Dr Ibrahim Msabaha and Nazir Karamagi.
The entire cabinet was dissolved following the Premier's resignation and President Kikweye forced to form a new cabinet that brought in Mr Mizengo Pinda as the Prime Minister.
Parliament formed the committee to investigate circumstances surrounding the contract between the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) and the US based Richmond Development Company.
That was after the company failed to honour its contract to produce 100MW of emergency electricity at a time when the country faced serious power shortage even after it was paid upfront dollars 172m, roughly Sh200 billion.
M/s Dowans later bought the plant that Richmond imported amid rumours that Mr Aziz had links to the company (Dowans).
