Escrow: Chenge files petition against ethics proceedings

 

By Rosina John , The Citizen Correspondent

In Summary

• Mr Chenge, a former Attorney General and Cabinet minister, is among people implicated in the Tegeta Escrow account scandal

Dar es Salaam.  Bariadi West MP Andrew Chenge (CCM) has filed a constitutional petition at the High Court challenging proceedings of the Public Leadership Ethics Tribunal and parliamentary resolutions in an application relating to violation of the Leadership Code of Ethics.

Mr Chenge, a former Attorney General and Cabinet minister, is among people implicated in the Tegeta Escrow account scandal. He was named as among those who received money from Mr James Rugemalira of VIP Engineering and Marketing Limited.

In his petition, Mr Chenge cited 13 grounds to fault the tribunal’s proceedings and recommendations presented by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) regarding the matter.

He alleged that the tribunal’s proceedings and parliamentary resolutions made on November 29, 2014 were in violation of an order given by the court on November 25, last year, temporarily stopping the deliberation and discussion of reports relating to the transfer of money from the Tegeta escrow account.

The matter, which is set for hearing on May 21, this year, is before a panel comprising judges Stella Mugasha, Augustine Mwarija and Fauz Twaib.

The panel directed the respondents in the matter, the Ethics Secretariat, Ethics Tribunal and Attorney General, to have filed their responses to the petition by May 8.

In the matter, Mr Chenge is represented by ten advocates –Deogratias Ringia, Wilson Ogunde, Jamhuri Johnson, Michael Ngalo, Respicius Didace, Okare Emesu, Cuthbert Tenga, Dosca Mutabuzi, John Nyange and Stephano Kamala.

He has asked the court to order a permanent injunction restraining the commission and the tribunal from continuing with and or contemplate instituting any ethical complaint against him in respect of the matters that formed the basis of the CAG and PAC reports.

The MP seeks a declaration that the complaint initiated by the commission and preceded by the tribunal is null and void for being tenanted with material irregularity and that the proceedings by the National Assembly and resolutions passed were irregular, improper, illegal and, thus null and void.

He is further requesting for declaration that his constitutional and natural justice rights were violated and would be deemed to have continued being violated by the respondents until the date when another compelling restraint order is issued by the court and obeyed by the respondents.