COURT CLEARS SALESHANDO

Justice Gabriel Komboni of Gaborone High Court says the Leader of Opposition(LOO) Dumelang Saleshando’s suspension from the National Assembly last year was a violation of his constitutional rights.

In a judgment delivered last week, Justice Komboni said the politician’s suspension from Parliament by Speaker of the National Assembly Phandu Skelemani was unwarranted and infringed on Saleshando’s constitutional rights.

“It is however, the conduct of the Speaker of the National Assembly, which I have narrated above which violated Saleshando’s constitutional rights when the Speaker of the National Assembly sought to apply for the said Standing Orders in circumstances which are not justified,” Komboni said.

Komboni further declared that the offence for which Saleshando was named by the Speaker of the National Assembly did not warrant the invocation of Standing Order 60.4 (a) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly.

He also set aside the decision to invoke Standing Order 60.4 (a) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly which he said were unprocedural, unconstitutional and irrational.

The court ruled that the Speaker should safeguard and maintain the independence and authority of the National Assembly and shall preside with complete impartiality over parliamentary debates and shall protect the freedom of speech and debate in the National Assembly. Saleshando was suspended from participating in the National Assembly’s business for a week during the August 2020 sitting following a vote by Members of Parliament after a ruling by Skelemani.

The issue started during the emergency meeting of Parliament in April 2020, when Saleshando alleged that there had been a direct awarding of a government tender to the value of P13.7 million to a company owned by President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s sister, Monteco Solutions (Pty) Ltd for provision of Anti-Retroviral drugs, without a competitive bid. Saleshando refused to withdraw the corruption claims, and his attempts to provide more evidence were quashed by Skelemani who then invoked Standing Order 60.4 (a) of the Standing Orders of Parliament. The orders empower the Speaker to name a member who has committed the offence of disregarding the Speaker’s authority, then call upon the chief whip to move for the suspension of the offending member from the National Assembly.

Skelemani had told the House that he was not satisfied with the evidence the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) vice president had presented before him to substantiate allegations of corrupt practice in the process of the awarding of government tenders and urged the LOO to withdraw the claims.