The reputation of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) is at an all-time low after it failed to accomplish even a single task on its timetable in the two weeks members spent in Rwanda.
The assembly’s integrity also took a hit with Thursday's resignation of four members of the key business committee (Commission) following a nasty falling out.
After two days of inactivity over a motion to kick out Tanzania’s Shy-Rose Bhanji and the shock resignations from the Commission by members from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Speaker Margaret Zziwa called off the meeting indefinitely.
A statement released Thursday night from Kigali gave the reason for the suspension as “quorum hitch”. The situation arose from confusion and confrontations on the review of rules of procedure governing all the house business and misconduct allegations levelled against Ms Bhanji.
The Eala Commission steers all administrative affairs of the Assembly and has 12 members—two from each of the five member states, a representative from the council of ministers and the Speaker. Tanzania’s other representative is Mr Adam Kimbisa.
“The implication of it is that the House is not able to transact any business,” said Mr Bobi Odiko, Eala’s senior public relations officer. “For it to do so, it needs to be re-constituted according to Article 3 of the Administration of the East African Legislative Assembly Act.”
The chairperson of Committee on Legal, Rules and Privileges, Ms Dora Byamukama, moved a motion on Wednesday to impeach Ms Bhanji from the commission by way of secret ballot.
Ms Byamukama accused Ms Bhanji of making derogatory remarks about some EAC partner states and some members of the summit of EAC States and also verbally insulting members of the delegation as well as misbehaving during a flight from Brussels, Belgium.
“This matter has negative impacts,” she said. “It has tainted the integrity of the House. It is unfortunate that it happened in the presence of the top leadership of this House and we can’t carry on as if nothing happened.”
The motion was backed by the majority of those present in the House. Ms Bhanji has denied all the allegations and said the move against her was a witch-hunt. She added:
“They are aiming at blackmailing me, character assassination and tainting my image in the eyes of the public. It has been three weeks since the trip but I’m yet to receive the allegations officially and in writing so I can also officially respond to them in writing.”
But just as members were readying themselves to vote by way of secret ballot after a protracted debate lasting three hours, Ugandan MP Susan Nakawuki brought it to the attention of the Speaker that Tanzania did not have a quorum. Only two Members (out of nine) of the Assembly from Tanzania, Mr Abdullah Mwinyi and Dr Nderakindo Kessy, were present.
Kenya had eight members, Burundi eight, Uganda seven and Rwanda nine during the roll call. The Speaker had to adjourn the house until yesterday morning but the roll call remained the same—leading to an indefinite adjournment.
During debate of the motion earlier, Mr Abubakar Zein of Kenya said he had never witnessed what he saw on the working tour of Belgium in reference to the case of Ms Bhanji. Mr Zein added: “It was utterly shocking and embarrassing. I can’t condone that. She can’t stay in the leadership of this honourable house.”
Ms Hafsa Mosi of Burundi said she was still traumatised by the experience. “Those of us who were insulted are left with profound psychological injuries,” she added.
Another member from Burundi, Mr Martin Nduwimana, said he regrets being part of the delegation to the EU. “No one could imagine that things could have gone that way,” he said. “I sat with someone who was directly insulted and, to me, that says I was indirectly insulted. We were all humiliated. This house has been humiliated.”
But Mr Issa Taslima of Tanzania and Mr Fred Mbidde of Uganda defended Ms Bhanji, saying the motion sought to punish her without giving her the right to defend herself. They also felt the matter should have first been investigated by the relevant committee.
Mr Makongoro Nyerere, also from Tanzania, argued that the condemnation of Ms Bhanji was based on “rumours” as no official documents had been tabled in the Assembly.
The East African
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