Former Singida East MP Tundu Lissu
Dar es Salaam — The
Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has written to Parliament Speaker Job
Ndugai enquiring on the steps the law-making body has taken to
investigate an assassination attempt on former Singida East MP Tundu
Lissu.
The global
organisation of national parliaments wants Mr Ndugai to explain what
measures the House took to ensure that Mr Lissu received "the necessary
financial and logistical assistance for his full medical recovery and
facilitate his safe return to Tanzania," a statement posted on the
organisation's website reads.
However, when asked
about the letter yesterday, Mr Ndugai said that he hasn't seen it and
went ahead to doubt IPU's investigative mandate.
He said: "I haven't
seen the letter. I'll clarify when I see it. What is important now is
to understand that IPU is not an investigative organ. How come now IPU
wants to interfere with a country's internal affairs?"
The IPU's letter to
Mr Ndugai, which was sent last week, follows a decision taken by Mr
Lissu, who was also recently elected as Chadema's Vice Chairman, to file
complaints to the organisation that promotes peace through
parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue on November 2019.
He alleged that the Parliament did not do enough in the subsequent days after he escaped an assassination attempt.
Also Read
Kenya seeks AU clarification on Djibouti contesting UN seat
Thousands quarantined on Asian cruise ships in virus fight
Qatar Airways in talks to buy 49pc stake in RwandAir
Political triumph: Trump acquitted in impeachment trial
On September 7,
2017, attackers said to be armed with AK-47s sprayed Mr Lissu's vehicle
with more than 35 bullets outside his house in the capital Dodoma and
was hit 16 times.
Mr Lissu has
undergone 24 surgical operations in Kenya and Belgium, and though he has
now been declared sufficiently well enough to return home, he has
declined to do so without a State approval to protect him against the
would be assassins.
In June 2019, Mr
Lissu was stripped of his parliamentary mandate over what Mr Ndugai said
was the former opposition chief whip absenteeism and reportedly failing
to file wealth declaration forms with the National Assembly.
"The National
Assembly of Tanzania has a vested interest in seeing to it that justice
is fully rendered and that Mr Lissu's physical integrity is protected,
all the more so given that it concerns in this case an attack on the
life of the then chief whip of the official opposition," reads in part
the UPI's statement posted on its website.
The statement was a
result of the UPI's Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians'
meeting which sat in Geneva, Switzerland, and outlines the decisions
agreed during that meeting which took place between January 20 and 30.
The IPU
nevertheless acknowledges the immediate steps that Parliament took to
take Mr Lissu to safety and facilitate his medical treatment after the
shooting.
Still, it "wishes
to receive the observations from the parliamentary authorities on the
reasons and grounds for revoking [Mr Lissu's] parliamentary seat."
Among the human
rights violations that Mr Lissu submitted to the committee include
threats and acts of intimidation; arbitrary arrest and detention; lack
of due process in proceedings against parliamentarians; violation of
freedom of opinion and expression; violation of freedom of assembly and
association; and abusive revocation or suspension of the parliamentary
mandate.
In its report, the
global body shows decisions it made on matters brought before its
attention and which touch various countries around the world.
No comments :
Post a Comment