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Tanzanian Parliament suspends three more opposition MPs for misconduct

Xinhua, June 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzanian Parliament on Thursday suspended three more Members of Parliament (MP) from the country's leading opposition party for violating Standing Orders, including using abusive signs and telling lies in the House.

They were Joseph Mbilinyi, Saed Kubenea and James Ole Millya, all from the east African nation's leading opposition party - Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA).

George Mkuchika, the chairman of the Parliamentary Rights, Ethics and Privileges Committee, said Mbilinyi will not attend parliamentary proceedings for 10 sessions for showing abusive gestures in Parliament on June 6 when the House ratified the international convention against doping in sports.

Kubenea and Millya were both suspended for five sessions each.

Kubenea was accused of telling lies in Parliament that the Tanzania People's Defence Forces (TPDF) had struck a partnership with China's Hainang Construction Company in which the latter would build several houses for the former and use them for 40 year before transferring them under the Build Operate and Transfer Arrangement.

The Minister for Defence and National Service, Hussein Mwinyi, had refuted this but Kubenea refused to withdraw the remarks until the issue was taken for judgement at the Parliamentary Rights, Ethics and Privileges Committee.

Millya was suspended after he had uttered a false statement when he alleged that the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Policy, Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs), Jenista Mhagama, was related to the operator of TanzaniteOne Mining which was in bad terms of small scale miners in her Peramiho constituency in Ruvuma region.

About two weeks ago, Parliament also suspended 10 MPs from opposition parties from attending parliamentary sessions on various reasons. Endit