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Tanzania's home affairs minister suspended for alcoholism

Xinhua, May 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has revoked appointment of Home Affair Minister Charles Kitwanga for getting in the National Assembly when he was allegedly drunk.

According to a statement issued by the Tanzania's State House's communication unit on Friday evening, the fired minister got into the Parliament and responded to question concerning his ministry, when he was drunk.

In the statement, Tanzanian State House didn't specify the date in which the suspended minister got into the National Assembly when he was drunk.

For some weeks now, the fired minister was under pressure from members of opposition camp in the National Assembly sitting in Tanzania's capital Dodoma.

MPs from the opposition wanted the minister to step-down voluntarily for allegedly to have been deeply involved in a dubiously-implemented 16.89 million dollars contract between Tanzania Police Force and the privately-owned Lugumi Enterprises Limited Company for supply of finger print scanners to police stations across the country.

MPs from the main opposition Chadema party have lately been at the forefront of growing calls for the minister to step down over implied conflict of interest factor in a deal which has become smeared by allegations of high level impropriety.

When asked by some Tanzania's media outlets on Wednesday, Kitwanga insisted that he want resign from the ministerial position due to what he called baseless allegations against him.

This is the first minister to be suspended since President John Magufuli got into power six months ago. Endit