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"id": 37349,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Namwamba",
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"legal_name": "Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba",
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me add my voice to this important matter. The time when proceedings before this Committee were going on, I did participate in those proceedings at that time as an Attorney representing one of the key witnesses who appeared before this Committee; a Swiss national called Maryanne Brinner. I, therefore, got the opportunity to be intimately associated with the work of this particular Committee. However, my submission is that this gives this House an opportunity to set a precedent in terms of responsibility, what properly falls within the purview of privilege and what any Member of a Committee of this House can properly be held to be personally responsible for, and how that relates with the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution and provisions related to privilege. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am particularly interested in the guidance of the Chair in terms of where the responsibility for the record of matters uttered in this House lies. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you look at Standing Order No.31, it is clear that the custody of all journals, records and proceedings in this House lies with the Clerk of this House. Therefore, it would be very important to be clarified as to whether a member or a Chair of a Committee can be held personally responsible for a record of the House that the Standing Orders themselves place in the custody of the Clerk. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, the Constitution at Article 117(1) is clear and provides emphatically that there shall be freedom of speech and debate in Parliament. It then goes on to indicate how Parliament may exercise and enjoy that freedom, including any powers, privileges and immunities that are necessary for Members, Committees and persons holding various positions of responsibility in the House. I would invite the Chair to read that Article 117 of the Constitution, alongside Article 33, which guarantees every citizen of this country, together with Members of this House, the freedom of expression. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have had occasion to look at the court ruling. It is important to note that the Judge was very clear in his ruling in indicating that--- And I quote the Judge verbatim. “The defendant was at all relevant times the Chairman of the Committee (that is the Committee that the defendant chaired) and further, it is averred by the plaintiff that during the course of hearing, the Committee received false and malicious evidence, wherein the plaintiff was named as one of the persons who removed the deceased from his home at night when the deceased disappeared.” So, primarily, the whole ruling that attempts to place liability on the defendant in this matter is related to the proceedings before a Committee of this House. Therefore, it will be very critical that in your ruling, you draw the line as to where our responsibility becomes personal and where that responsibility is properly privileged in terms of the House."
}