Mpofu stirs hornet’s nest 

Source: Mpofu stirs hornet’s nest – DailyNews Live

Mugove Tafirenyika      24 February 2018

HARARE – Lawyers and pro-democracy groups yesterday called on President
Emmerson Mnangagwa to fire his Home Affairs minister – Obert Mpofu for his
unprecedented attack on Parliament – which they said was despicable and
bordered on gross misconduct.

Mpofu – who is a former Mines minister – blew his fuse in Parliament on
Thursday after clashing with Mines and Energy committee chairperson Temba
Mliswa over the country’s missing $15 billion revenue from the gem-rich
Chiadzwa diamonds fields.

The burly Zanu PF secretary for administration later vowed never to appear
before the Mines and Energy committee to answer any questions relating to
the missing funds as long as Mliswa was not presiding over the emotive
issue – also suggesting damagingly that the garrulous Norton legislator
had at some point sought a bribe from him.

Mpofu’s tantrum sparked anger among the gathered MPs who called for him to
be slapped with stiff sanctions which he said, however, would have little
effect on him – as he had been in Parliament for more than three decades,
and thus knew how to deal with the august House’s procedures.

Yesterday Mpofu came in for heavy criticism for his show on Thursday, with
lawyers and radical pressure groups calling on Mnangagwa to fire his
minister.

Constitutional law expert Lovemore Madhuku told the Daily News that
Mpofu’s actions were unprecedented in the history of parliamentary
democracy that “there is no sensible minister who says to the legislature
– in front of the whole world, because the whole world was watching- I
will not cooperate”.

“The committee must prepare a report and present it to Parliament, which
will in turn set up a Privileges Committee that will investigate if the
minister was in contempt.

“If it recommends that he is guilty of contempt, there are a lot of
measures to be taken including barring him from Parliament or recommend
him to be removed as minister.

“The best approach would be to report him to the president so that he will
be removed from being a minister. They can argue that his conduct was
gross and therefore he is not fit to be a minister,” Madhuku told the
Daily News.

He said the other option was to fine Mpofu since the new Constitution
removed a provision for a jail term.

In 2005, the late former MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett, then MP for
Chimanimani, was jailed after he floored the then Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa.

Radical pressure group – #Tajamuka/Sesijikile which in 2016 fought
spiritedly to have former president Robert Mugabe impeached – yesterday
waded into the Mpofu debate by imploring Mnangagwa to censure his Home
Affairs minister.

Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda told the Daily News that he
was awaiting a report from Mliswa’s committee.

“We are waiting for that report to come to Parliament first for tabling
then from there we will know what happens.

“It must be noted that the report is not brought to me directly but that
it will be tabled by the committee in Parliament so I am not the one to
say whether or not the minister acted in contempt of Parliament,” Mudenda
said.

Thursday’s fracas erupted after Mpofu had been summoned to Parliament to
help explain the missing $15 billion worth of the precious stones from
Marange, as the government hunts for elusive answers on the emotive issue.

“I am not the minister of Mines and I don’t know which precedence has been
set where former ministers are subjected to questioning on issues to do
with ministries that they have already left. I have no mandate to speak
about the ministry of Mines,” Mpofu bellowed.

The minister had made it clear from the beginning of proceedings that he
had no time for the committee, also telling Mliswa bluntly that he could
not be lectured on how Parliament worked.

This prompted Mliswa to ask him to withdraw the statement, which he flatly
refused to do.

Mpofu said further that he had taken an oath of secrecy as a minister and
would also not accept to be abused by Mliswa, whom he accused of
besmirching his image.

At that point, MDC MP for Zengeza West, Simon Chidhakwa, said if Mpofu did
not want to appear before the committee, he was supposed to openly say so
– to which the minister responded by saying that he had been in the House
of Assembly since 1987 and thus understood what he was saying and doing.

The combative Mpofu also claimed that Mliswa had once travelled 600
kilometres to his house, where the Norton MP had allegedly sought to
discuss the same issues.

But Mliswa shot back saying Mpofu was trying to divert from the issue at
hand, and adding that the said visit had occurred when Mliswa was still in
Zanu PF and the two had simply discussed politics – including former
ruling party bigwig Didymus Mutasa’s exit from the former liberation
movement.

Mpofu then asked for a break to wash his hands, before coming back and
stating emphatically that he would not say anything more as long as Mliswa
was chairing the committee.

“For as long as he is sitting in front of me, presiding over this issue, I
will not co-operate.  You are even refusing me a chance to say what he had
come to do at my house.

“With respect to honourable members, I will never, never be presided over
by … Mliswa for what has happened and you should allow me to express
myself.

“I am not going to talk. I have submitted myself to you and I will not
talk about this issue … no matter what you say, I will never say
anything … you don’t know me …” Mpofu thundered.

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